Ophthalmic apparatus, controlling method thereof, and recording medium

ABSTRACT

An ophthalmic apparatus of an exemplary aspect performs the first and second OCT scans on a subject&#39;s eye. The first OCT scan is performed on the first region including the first site of the subject&#39;s eye, and the second OCT scan is performed on the second region including the second site. The ophthalmic apparatus acquires the first deviation information of the subject&#39;s eye prior to the first OCT scan and performs alignment, and also acquires the second deviation information of the subject&#39;s eye prior to the second OCT scan and performs alignment. The ophthalmic apparatus calculates the distance between the first site and the second site based on the first data acquired through the first OCT scan and second data acquired through the second OCT scan.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No.16/568,262, filed Sep. 12, 2019, which is based upon and claims thebenefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2018-173777,filed Sep. 18, 2018, the entire contents of each are incorporated hereinby reference.

FIELD

Embodiments described herein relate to an ophthalmic apparatus, acontrolling method thereof, and a recording medium.

BACKGROUND

Ophthalmic apparatuses capable of axial length measurement are known.For example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2016-19634 discloses an axial length measurement technique using opticalcoherence tomography (OCT). Axial length is defined as the distancebetween the corneal apex and the macula (fovea centralis). Axial lengthis one of useful intraocular parameters in selection of the power of anintraocular lens before cataract surgery, in checking of axial ametropia(axial refractive abnormality), etc.

Since axial length is defined as the distance between the corneal apexand the macula as described above, both the corneal position and theretinal position are required for axial length measurement. Regardingthe invention disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2016-19634, there is a time difference between the firstmeasurement for determining the corneal position and the secondmeasurement for determining the retinal position. Here, the firstmeasurement includes an OCT scan of anterior eye segment mode and thesecond measurement includes an OCT scan of posterior eye segment mode.Therefore, if a subject's eye moves between the first measurement andthe second measurement, there is a possibility that axial length cannotbe measured accurately. In particular, movement in a directionorthogonal to the depth direction of the subject's eye may greatlyreduce the reliability of the measured value of axial length.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of an ophthalmic apparatus according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 3A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 3B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4A is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 4B is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operationthat can be performed by the ophthalmic apparatus according to theexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation that canbe performed by the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of theconfiguration of an ophthalmic apparatus according to an exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of the operationthat can be performed by the ophthalmic apparatus according to theexemplary embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation that canbe performed by the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart illustrating an example of the operation that canbe performed by the ophthalmic apparatus according to the exemplaryembodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

One object of exemplary embodiments is to provide a technique capable ofperforming highly reliable axial length measurement regardless of themovement of the subject's eye.

The first aspect of the exemplary embodiments is an ophthalmic apparatuscomprising: a scanner that applies an optical coherence tomography (OCT)scan to a subject's eye; a movement mechanism that moves at least partof the scanner; a deviation detector that measures deviation of thesubject's eye with respect to a predetermined reference position; scancontrolling circuitry that performs first scan control of causing thescanner to perform an OCT scan on a first region including a first siteof the subject's eye, and second scan control of causing the scanner toperform an OCT scan on a second region including a second site differentfrom the first site; alignment controlling circuitry that performs firstalignment control of controlling the movement mechanism based on firstdeviation information of the subject's eye acquired by the deviationdetector prior to the first scan control, and second alignment controlof controlling the movement mechanism based on second deviationinformation of the subject's eye acquired by the deviation detectorprior to the second scan control; and distance calculating circuitrythat calculates a distance between the first site and the second sitebased on first data acquired by the scanner under the first scan controland second data acquired by the scanner under the second scan control.

The second aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the first aspect, wherein the scanner includes: aninterference optical system that includes a measurement arm that guidesmeasurement light to the subject's eye and a reference arm that guidesreference light; and an arm length changer that is provided in at leastone of the measurement arm and the reference arm, and changes an armlength under control of the scan controlling circuitry. Further, thedistance calculating circuitry calculates a difference between a firstarm length applied at a time of the first scan control and a second armlength applied at a time of the second scan control, analyzes the firstdata to specify a first position corresponding to the first site,analyzes the second data to specify a second position corresponding tothe second site, and calculates the distance based on the difference,the first position, and the second position.

The third aspect of the exemplary embodiments is an ophthalmic apparatuscomprising: a scanner that applies an optical coherence tomography (OCT)scan to a subject's eye; a deviation detector that measures deviation ofthe subject's eye with respect to a predetermined reference position;scan controlling circuitry that performs first scan control of causingthe scanner to perform an OCT scan on a first region including a firstsite of the subject's eye, and second scan control of causing thescanner to perform an OCT scan on a second region including a secondsite different from the first site; and distance calculating circuitrythat calculates a distance between the first site and the second site,based on at least one of first deviation information of the subject'seye acquired by the deviation detector in response to the first scancontrol and second deviation information of the subject's eye acquiredby the deviation detector in response to the second scan control, firstdata acquired by the scanner under the first scan control, and seconddata acquired by the scanner under the second scan control.

The fourth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the third aspect, wherein the deviation detector acquiresone deviation information in response to one of the first scan controland the second scan control, and acquires another deviation informationprior to an other of the first scan control and the second scan control.Further, the ophthalmic apparatus further comprises: a movementmechanism that moves at least part of the scanner; and alignmentcontrolling circuitry that performs alignment control of controlling themovement mechanism based on the another deviation information prior tothe other of the first scan control and the second scan control. Inaddition, the distance calculating circuitry calculates the distancebased on the one deviation information, the first data, and the seconddata.

The fifth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the third or fourth aspect, wherein the scanner includes:an interference optical system that includes a measurement arm thatguides measurement light to the subject's eye, and a reference arm thatguides reference light; and an arm length changer that is provided in atleast one of the measurement arm and the reference arm, and changes anarm length under control of the scan controlling circuitry. Further, thedistance calculating circuitry calculates a difference between a firstarm length applied at a time of the first scan control and a second armlength applied at a time of the second scan control, analyzes the firstdata to specify a first position corresponding to the first site,analyzes the second data to specify a second position corresponding tothe second site, and calculates the distance based on the difference,the first position, the second position, and at least one of the firstdeviation information and the second deviation information.

The sixth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the fifth aspect, wherein the distance calculatingcircuitry calculates a provisional distance between the first site andthe second site based on the difference, the first position, and thesecond position, and calculates the distance based on the provisionaldistance, at least one of the first deviation information and the seconddeviation information, and corneal curvature radius of the subject's eyeacquired in advance.

The seventh aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the sixth aspect, wherein the distance calculatingcircuitry calculates the distance between the first site and the secondsite by using the following arithmetic formula:AL=(r−r*cos(arcsin(h/r)))+ALm*cos(arcsin(h/ALm)), where AL is thedistance between the first site and the second site, ALm is theprovisional distance, h is the first deviation information or the seconddeviation information, and r is the corneal curvature radius.

The eighth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the scancontrolling circuitry causes the scanner to perform a plurality of OCTscans in at least one of the first scan control and the second scancontrol, and the distance calculating circuitry acquires a single pieceof data from a data group acquired by the plurality of OCT scans, andcalculates the distance using the single piece of data.

The ninth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the eighth aspect, wherein the distance calculatingcircuitry generates the single piece of data by averaging the datagroup.

The tenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of any one of the first to seventh aspects, wherein the scancontrolling circuitry causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on athree dimensional region of the subject's eye in at least one of thefirst scan control and the second scan control, and the distancecalculating circuitry analyzes data acquired by the OCT scan on thethree dimensional region to specify a feature position corresponding toa feature point of the subject's eye, and calculates a length of a linesegment whose one end is placed at the feature position, as thedistance.

The eleventh aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the tenth aspect, wherein the scan controlling circuitrycauses the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensional regionincluding at least part of a corneal surface of the subject's eye in thefirst scan control, and the distance calculating circuitry analyzes dataacquired by the OCT scan on the three dimensional region to specify afeature position corresponding to a corneal apex.

The twelfth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of the tenth or eleventh aspect, wherein the scan controllingcircuitry causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a threedimensional region including at least part of a retinal surface of thesubject's eye in the second scan control, and the distance calculatingcircuitry analyzes data acquired by the OCT scan on the threedimensional region to specify a feature position corresponding to amacular center.

The thirteenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of any one of the first to twelfth aspects, wherein thedeviation detector includes: a projection system that projects a lightbeam onto an anterior eye segment of the subject's eye; two or morecameras that photograph the anterior eye segment from directionsdifferent from each other; and deviation calculating circuitry thatcalculates the deviation of the subject's eye based on positions ofimages of the light beam in two or more anterior eye segment imagesacquired by the two or more cameras.

The fourteenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is the ophthalmicapparatus of any one of the first to twelfth aspects, wherein thedeviation detector includes: a projection system that projects a lightbeam obliquely onto an anterior eye segment of the subject's eye; animage sensor that detects reflection of the light beam from the anterioreye segment; and deviation calculating circuitry that calculates thedeviation of the subject's eye based on a position of the reflectiondetected by the image sensor.

The fifteenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is a method ofcontrolling an ophthalmic apparatus that includes a scanner configuredto apply an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan to a subject's eye,a movement mechanism configured to move at least part of the scanner,and a deviation detector configured to measure deviation of thesubject's eye with respect to a predetermined reference position. Themethod comprises: a first alignment control step that controls themovement mechanism based on first deviation information of the subject'seye acquired by the deviation detector; a first scan control step thatcauses the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a first region including afirst site of the subject's eye; a second alignment control step thatcontrols the movement mechanism based on second deviation information ofthe subject's eye acquired by the deviation detector; a second scancontrol step that causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a secondregion including a second site different from the first site; and adistance calculation step that calculates a distance between the firstsite and the second site, based on first data acquired by the scanner inthe first scan control step and second data acquired by the scanner inthe second scan control step.

The sixteenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is a method ofcontrolling an ophthalmic apparatus that includes a scanner configuredto apply an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan to a subject's eye,and a deviation detector configured to measure deviation of thesubject's eye with respect to a predetermined reference position. Themethod comprises: a first scan control step that causes the scanner toperform an OCT scan on a first region including a first site of thesubject's eye; a second scan control step that causes the scanner toperform an OCT scan on a second region including a second site differentfrom the first site; a deviation detection step that causes thedeviation detector to perform at least one of acquisition of firstdeviation information of the subject's eye in response to the first scancontrol, and acquisition of second deviation information of thesubject's eye in response to the second scan control; and a distancecalculation step that calculates a distance between the first site andthe second site, based on at least one of the first deviationinformation and the second deviation information acquired in thedeviation detection step, first data acquired by the scanner in thefirst scan control step, and second data acquired by the scanner in thesecond scan control step.

The seventeenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is a program thatcauses a computer to execute the method of the fifteenth or sixteenthaspect.

The eighteenth aspect of the exemplary embodiments is acomputer-readable non-transitory recording medium storing the program ofthe seventeenth aspect.

According to the exemplary embodiments, axial length measurement may becarried out with high reliability regardless of the movement of thesubject's eye.

Hereinafter; exemplary aspects of ophthalmic apparatuses; controllingmethods thereof, programs, and recording media according to theexemplary embodiments will be described in detail with referring to thedrawings. The ophthalmic apparatuses according to the embodimentsacquire data by applying an OCT scan to the subject's eye, and determinethe distance between two different sites of the subject's eye.Typically, the ophthalmic apparatuses according to the embodiments maysequentially apply OCT scans to the anterior eye segment and theposterior eye segment of the subject's eye, and determine the value ofthe axial length from the data acquired through the sequential OCTscans.

The following exemplary disclosures describes an ophthalmic apparatusincluding a combination of spectral domain OCT and a fundus camera;however, embodiments are not limited thereto. The type of OCT employedin embodiments is not limited to spectral domain OCT, and may be sweptsource OCT, for example.

Spectral domain OCT is an imaging technique performed by splitting lightfrom a low coherence light source into measurement light and referencelight, superposing the return light of the measurement light returnedfrom the object with the reference light to generate interference light,detecting the spectral distribution of the interference light using aspectrometer, and applying Fourier transform and other processes to thespectral distribution detected.

Swept source OCT is an imaging technique performed by splitting lightemitted from a wavelength tunable light source into measurement lightand reference light, superposing the return light of the measurementlight returned from the object with the reference light to generateinterference light, detecting the interference light by a photodetectorsuch as a balanced photodiode, and applying Fourier transform and otherprocesses to the detected data acquired according to the wavelengthsweeping and the measurement light scanning.

As described above, spectral domain OCT is an OCT technique foracquiring a spectral distribution by space division, and swept sourceOCT is an OCT technique for acquiring a spectral distribution by timedivision. In addition, the OCT technique utilizable for embodiments isnot limited to the two, and embodiments may utilize any type of OCTtechnique different from them. For example, time domain OCT may beemployed.

In the present specification, “image data” and an “image” that isinformation visualized based thereon may not be distinguished from oneanother unless otherwise mentioned. Further, a site or tissue of thesubject's eye and an image visualizing the site or tissue may not bedistinguished from one another unless otherwise mentioned.

First Embodiment

The first embodiment performs an OCT scan (first OCT scan) on the firstregion of the subject's eye after performing alignment for the subject'seye, performs another OCT scan (second OCT scan) on the second regionafter performing another alignment, and then calculates the distancebetween the first site included in the first region and the second siteincluded in the second region based on the first data acquired throughthe first OCT scan and the second data acquired through the second OCTscan. With this, both the first and second OCT scans can be carried outunder appropriate alignment states, thereby making it possible toachieve distance measurement with high reliability even in the casewhere eye movement occurs between the first and second OCT scans. Someexamples of such embodiment are disclosed below.

<Configurations>

The exemplary ophthalmic apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes the funduscamera unit 2, the OCT unit 100 and the arithmetic and control unit 200.The fundus camera unit 2 is provided with optical systems and mechanismsfor acquiring front images of the subject's eye E, and optical systemsand mechanisms for performing OCT. The OCT unit 100 includes opticalsystems and mechanisms for performing OCT. The arithmetic and controlunit 200 includes one or more processors configured to execute variousprocesses (e.g., calculations, operations, and controls). In addition tothem, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 includes the two anterior eye segmentcameras 300 for photographing an anterior eye segment from twodirections different from each other.

The fundus camera unit 2 is provided with a chin rest and a foreheadrest for supporting the face of the subject. The chin rest and theforehead rest correspond to the supporter 340 shown in FIG. 4A and FIG.4B. The base 310 stores a drive mechanism and an arithmetic controlcircuit. The housing 320 provided on the base 310 stores an opticalsystem. The lens container 330 is provided in such a way that itprotrudes from the front surface of the housing 320, and accommodatesthe objective lens 22.

Further, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 includes a lens unit for switchingthe target of OCT imaging between some sites. More specifically, theophthalmic apparatus 1 includes the anterior eye segment OCT attachment400 for applying OCT to an anterior eye segment. For example, theattachment 400 may be configured in the same manner as the optical unitdisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2015-160103.

As shown in FIG. 1 , the attachment 400 can be disposed between theobjective lens 22 and the subject's eye E. When the attachment 400 isplaced in the optical path, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 can apply an OCTscan to the anterior eye segment. On the other hand, when the attachment400 is retracted from the optical path, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 canapply an OCT scan to the posterior eye segment. The movement of theattachment 400 is performed manually or automatically.

In another embodiment, an OCT scan may be applied to a posterior eyesegment when an attachment is placed in the optical path, and an OCTscan may be applied to an anterior eye segment when the attachment isretracted from the optical path. Further, the target sites switched bythe attachment is not limited to the posterior and eye segments, and maybe any sites of an eye. Such attachments are not the only configurationof switching the target sites of OCT. For example, the followings may beadopted: a configuration including a lens movable along an optical path;or a configuration including a lens insertable into and removable froman optical path.

In the present embodiment, the term “processor” is, for example, acircuit (circuitry) such as a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), an application specific integrated circuit(ASIC), a programmable logic device (e.g., a simple programmable logicdevice (SPLD), a complex programmable logic device (CPLD), or a fieldprogrammable gate array (FPGA)), or the like. The processor realizes thefunctions according to the embodiment, for example, by reading out andexecuting a program stored in a memory circuit or a memory device.

<Fundus Camera Unit 2>

The fundus camera unit 2 is provided with optical systems forphotographing the fundus Ef of the subject's eye E. Digital images ofthe fundus Ef (referred to as fundus images, fundus photographs, or thelike) obtained by the fundus camera unit 2 are, in general, front imagessuch as observation images and photographed images. An observation imageis obtained by capturing a moving image using near-infrared light. Aphotographed image is a still image obtained by using flash light in thevisible range.

The fundus camera unit 2 includes the illumination optical system 10 andthe photography optical system 30. The illumination optical system 10projects illumination light onto the subject's eye E. The photographyoptical system 30 detects the return light of the illumination lightprojected onto the subject's eye E. The measurement light incident fromthe OCT unit 100 is directed to the subject's eye E through the opticalpath in the fundus camera unit 2. The return light of the measurementlight projected onto the subject's eye E (e.g., the fundus Ef) isdirected to the OCT unit 100 through the same optical path in the funduscamera unit 2.

The light output from the observation light source 11 of theillumination optical system 10 (referred to as observation illuminationlight) is reflected by the concave mirror 12, passes through thecondenser lens 13, and becomes near-infrared light after passing throughthe visible cut filter 14. Further, the observation illumination lightis once converged at a location near the photographing light source 15,reflected by the mirror 16, passes through the relay lens system 17, therelay lens 18, the diaphragm 19, and the relay lens system 20, and isdirected to the aperture mirror 21. Then, the observation illuminationlight is reflected on the peripheral part (i.e., the surrounding area ofthe aperture part) of the aperture mirror 21, penetrates the dichroicmirror 46, and is refracted by the objective lens 22, therebyilluminating the subject's eye E (the fundus Ef thereof). The returnlight of the observation illumination light from the subject's eye E isrefracted by the objective lens 22, penetrates the dichroic mirror 46,passes through the aperture part formed in the center area of theaperture mirror 21, passes through the dichroic mirror 55, travelsthrough the photography focusing lens 31, and is reflected by the mirror32. Further, the return light passes through the half mirror 33A, isreflected by the dichroic mirror 33, and forms an image on the lightreceiving surface of the image sensor 35 by the imaging lens 34. Theimage sensor 35 detects the return light at a predetermined frame rate(capture rate). Note that the focus of the photography optical system 30can be adjusted to match the fundus Ef or vicinity thereof, and can beadjusted to match the anterior eye segment or vicinity thereof.

The light output from the photographing light source 15 (referred to asphotographing illumination light) passes through the same route as thatof the observation illumination light and is projected onto the fundusEf. The return light of the photographing illumination light from thesubject's eye E passes through the same route as that of the returnlight of the observation illumination light, is guided to and passesthrough the dichroic mirror 33, is reflected by the mirror 36, and formsan image on the light receiving surface of the image sensor 38 by theimaging lens 37.

The liquid crystal display (LCD) 39 displays a fixation target (i.e., afixation target image). Part of the light beam output from the LCD 39 isreflected by the half mirror 33A, reflected by the mirror 32, travelsthrough the photography focusing lens 31 and the dichroic mirror 55, andpasses through the aperture part of the aperture mirror 21. The lightbeam having passed through the aperture part of the aperture mirror 21penetrates the dichroic mirror 46, and is refracted by the objectivelens 22, thereby being projected onto the fundus Ef. Fixation targetsare typically used for guidance and fixation of the line of sight. Thedirection in which the line of sight of the subject's eye E is guided(and fixed), that is, the direction in which the fixation of thesubject's eye E is urged is referred to as a fixation position.

The fixation position can be changed by changing the display position ofthe fixation target image on the screen of the LCD 39. Examples offixation positions include a fixation position for acquiring an imagecentered on the macula, a fixation position for acquiring an imagecentered on the optic nerve head, a fixation position for acquiring animage centered on a position between the macula and the optic nerve head(i.e., the fundus center position), and a fixation position foracquiring an image of a site far away from the macula (i.e., aperipheral position of the fundus).

A user interface such as a graphical user interface (GUI) fordesignating at least one of such typical fixation positions can beprovided. Further, a user interface such as a GUI for manually changingthe fixation position (i.e., the display position of the fixationtarget) can be provided. In addition, it is also possible to apply aconfiguration in which the fixation position is automatically set.

The configuration of presenting fixation targets to the subject's eye Efor changing fixation positions is not limited to display devices suchas LCD. For example, a device that has light emitting elements (e.g.,light emitting diodes) disposed in a matrix-like arrangement (referredto as a fixation matrix) can be adopted in place of a display device. Inthis case, fixation positions of the subject's eye E by the fixationtarget can be changed by lighting one (or more) of the light emittingelements in a selective manner. As another example, a device providedwith one or more movable light emitting elements can generate thefixation target capable of changing fixation positions.

The alignment optical system 50 generates an alignment indicator usedfor the alignment of the optical system with respect to the subject'seye E. The alignment light output from the light emitting diode (LED) 51travels through the diaphragm 52, the diaphragm 53, and the relay lens54, is reflected by the dichroic mirror 55, passes through the aperturepart of the aperture mirror 21, penetrates the dichroic mirror 46, andis projected onto the subject's eye E via the objective lens 22. Thereturn light of the alignment light from the subject's eye E passesthrough the same route as that of the return light of the observationillumination light and is guided to the image sensor 35. Based on thereceived image (referred to as the alignment indicator image), manualalignment and/or automatic alignment can be performed.

Note that alignment methods applicable to embodiments are not limited tothe above method using an alignment indicator. It may be any knownmethod, such as a method using the anterior eye segment camera 300(described later), or a method using an optical lever configured toproject light obliquely onto the cornea and detect the cornea reflectionlight in the opposite oblique direction (described later).

The focus optical system 60 generates a split indicator used for thefocus adjustment with respect to subject's eye E. The focus opticalsystem 60 is moved along the optical path of the illumination opticalsystem 10 (referred to as the illumination optical path) in conjunctionwith the movement of the photography focusing lens 31 along the opticalpath of the photography optical system 30 (referred to as thephotographing optical path). The reflection rod 67 is inserted into andremoved from the illumination optical path, Before performing focusadjustment, the reflective surface of the reflection rod 67 is arrangedin the slanted state in the illumination optical path. The focus lightoutput from the LED 61 passes through the relay lens 62, is split intotwo light beams by the split indicator plate 63, passes through thetwo-hole diaphragm 64. Then, the focus light is reflected by the mirror65, is converged on the reflective surface of the reflection rod 67 bythe condenser lens 66, and is reflected by the reflective surface.Further, the focus light travels through the relay lens 20, is reflectedby the aperture mirror 21, and penetrates the dichroic mirror 46,thereby being projected onto the subject's eye E via the objective lens22. The return light of the focus light from the subject's eye E (e.g.,the fundus reflection light) passes through the same route as that ofthe return light of the alignment light and is guided to the imagesensor 35. Based on the received image (referred to as the splitindicator image), manual focusing and/or automatic focusing can beperformed.

The diopter correction lenses 70 and 71 can be selectively inserted intothe photographing optical path between the aperture mirror 21 and thedichroic mirror 55. The diopter correction lens 70 is a positive lens(convex lens) for correcting high hyperopia. The diopter correction lens71 is a negative lens (concave lens) for correcting high myopia.

The dichroic mirror 46 couples the optical path for fundus photographyand the optical path for OCT (measurement arm). The dichroic mirror 46reflects the light of wavelength bands used for OCT and transmits thelight for fundus photography. The measurement arm is formed by, listedfrom the OCT unit 100 side, the collimator lens unit 40, theretroreflector 41, the dispersion compensation member 42, the OCTfocusing lens 43, the optical scanner 44, and the relay lens 45.

The retroreflector 41 is movable along the optical path of themeasurement light LS incident on the retroreflector 41, whereby thelength of the measurement arm is changed. The change in the length ofthe measurement arm can be utilized for operations such as optical pathlength correction according to axial length and interference conditionadjustment.

The dispersion compensation member 42 acts to eliminate the differencebetween the dispersion characteristics of the measurement light LS andthat of the reference light LR, together with the dispersioncompensation member 113 (described later) arranged in the reference arm.

The OCT focusing lens 43 is moved along the measurement arm in order toperform the focus adjustment of the measurement arm. Note that themovements of the photography focusing lens 31, the focus optical system60 and the OCT focusing lens 43 may be controlled in an interlockingmanner.

The optical scanner 44 is placed at a position substantially opticallyconjugate with the pupil of the subject's eye E. The optical scanner 44is configured to deflect the measurement light LS guided by themeasurement arm. An example of the optical scanner 44 is a galvanoscanner that allows two dimensional scanning. Typically, the opticalscanner 44 includes a one dimensional scanner for deflecting themeasurement light in the +x and −x directions (x-scanner), and anotherone dimensional scanner for deflecting the measurement light in the +yand −y directions (y-scanner). In this case, for example, either one ofthe one dimensional scanners may be placed at a position opticallyconjugate with the pupil, or a position optically conjugate with thepupil is placed between the one dimensional scanners.

<OCT Unit 100>

The exemplary OCT unit 100 shown in FIG. 2 is provided with the opticalsystem for performing spectral domain OCT. The optical system includesan interference optical system. The interference optical system isconfigured to split light emitted from a wavelength tunable light sourceinto measurement light and reference light, superpose the return lightof the measurement light projected onto the subject's eye E with thereference light having traveled through the reference optical path,thereby yielding interference light. The spectral distribution of theinterference light generated by the interference optical system isdetected with a spectrometer. The data (i.e., a detection signal)obtained by detecting the spectral distribution of the interferencelight is sent to the arithmetic and control unit 200.

The light source unit 101 outputs the low coherence light L0 (broadbandlow coherence light). The low coherence light L0 includes, for example,wavelength bands in the near-infrared region (about 800 nm to 900 nm),and has a temporal coherence length of about several tens ofmicrometers. The low coherence light L0 may be invisible to human eyes,such as near-infrared light having a central wavelength of about 1040 nmto 1060 nm. The light source unit 101 includes a light output devicesuch as a super luminescent diode (SLD), LED, semiconductor opticalamplifier (SOA), or the like.

In the case where swept source OCT is employed in place of spectraldomain OCT, a light source unit is used that includes a near-infraredwavelength tunable laser configured to vary wavelengths of emitted lightat high speed.

The low coherence light L0 output from the light source unit 101 isguided to the polarization controller 103 through the optical fiber 102,and the polarization state of the light L0 is regulated. The light L0with regulated polarization state is guided to the fiber coupler 105through the optical fiber 104 and is split into the measurement light LSand the reference light LR. The optical path guiding the measurementlight LS is referred to as a measurement arm (or a sample arm), and theoptical path guiding the reference light LR is referred to as areference arm.

The reference light LR generated by the fiber coupler 105 is guidedthrough the optical fiber 110 to the collimator 111, is converted into aparallel light beam, travels through the optical path length correctionmember 112 and the dispersion compensation member 113, and is guided tothe retroreflector 114. The optical path length correction member 112acts to match the optical path length of the reference light LR and thatof the measurement light LS with each other. The dispersion compensationmember 113 acts to eliminate the difference between the dispersioncharacteristics of the reference light LR and that of the measurementlight LS with each other, together with the dispersion compensationmember 42 arranged in the measurement arm. The retroreflector 114 ismovable along the optical path of the reference light LR incident on theretroreflector 114. With this, the length of the reference arm ischanged. The change in the length of the reference arm may be utilizedfor operations such as optical path length correction according to axiallength and interference condition adjustment.

After passing through the retroreflector 114, the reference light LRtravels through the dispersion compensation member 113 and the opticalpath length correction member 112, is converted from a parallel lightbeam to a convergent light beam by the collimator 116, and is incidenton the optical fiber 117. The reference light LR having entered theoptical fiber 117 is guided to the polarization controller 118, and thepolarization state of the reference light LR is regulated. Then, thereference light LR is guided to the attenuator 120 through the opticalfiber 119, and the light amount of the reference light LR is regulated.Subsequently, the reference light LR is guided to the fiber coupler 122through the optical fiber 121.

Meanwhile, the measurement light LS generated by the fiber coupler 105is guided to the collimator lens unit 40 through the optical fiber 127and is converted to a parallel light beam. Then, the measurement lightLS passes through the retroreflector 41, the dispersion compensationmember 42, the OCT focusing lens 43, the optical scanner 44, and therelay lens 45, and then reaches the dichroic mirror 46. The measurementlight LS is reflected by the dichroic mirror 46, is refracted by theobjective lens 22, and is projected onto the subject's eye E. Themeasurement light LS is reflected and scattered at various depths of thesubject's eye E. The return light of the measurement light LS returnedfrom the subject's eye E travels along the measurement arm in theopposite direction, is directed to the fiber coupler 105, and thenreaches the fiber coupler 122 via the optical fiber 128.

The fiber coupler 122 superposes the measurement light LS incidentthrough the optical fiber 128 with the reference light LR incidentthrough the optical fiber 121, to generate the interference light LC.

The interference light LC generated by the fiber coupler 122 is guidedto the spectrometer 130 through the optical fiber 129. For example, thespectrometer 130 is configured to convert the incident interferencelight LC into a parallel light beam by a collimator lens, separate theinterference light LC (parallel light beam) into its constituentwavelength components by a diffraction grating, and project the spectralcomponents onto an image sensor by the lens 114. The image sensor is,for example, a line sensor that detects the spectral components of theinterference light LC to generate an electrical signal (i.e., detectionsignal). The detection signal generated is sent to the arithmetic andcontrol unit 200.

When swept source OCT is employed, interference light generated bysuperposition of measurement light and reference light is split at apredetermined splitting ratio (e.g., 1 to 1) to generate a pair ofinterference light. The pair of interference light is guided to aphotodetector. The photodetector includes, for example, a balancedphotodiode that includes a pair of photodiodes configured torespectively detect the pair of interference light and output thedifference between the pair of detection signals obtained by the pair ofphotodiodes. The photodetector transmits the output (i.e., detectionsignal such as the difference signal) to a data acquisition system(DAO). A clock signal is supplied from the light source unit to the dataacquisition system. The clock signal is generated in the light sourceunit in synchronization with the output timings of the respectivewavelengths varied within a predetermined wavelength range by thewavelength tunable type light source. For example, the light source unitsplits light of each output wavelength to generate two pieces of splitlight, optically delays one of the two pieces of split light, combinesthe two pieces of split light, detects the combined light, and generatesa clock signal from the detection signal thereof. The data acquisitionsystem performs sampling of the detection signal (difference signal)input from the photodetector based on the clock signal. The dataextracted by the sampling is used for processing such as imageconstruction.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 is provided withboth an element for changing the measurement arm length (e.g.; theretroreflector 41) and an element for changing the reference arm length(e.g., the retroreflector 114 or a reference mirror); however; only oneof these two elements may be provided in some other embodiments. Thecoherence gate position is changed by changing the difference betweenthe measurement arm length and the reference arm length (i.e.; theoptical path length difference). Elements for changing the optical pathlength difference are not limited to the exemplary elements in thepresent embodiment; and any type of element (e.g.; any type of opticalmember, any type of mechanism) may be employed.

<Arithmetic and Control Unit 200>

The arithmetic and control unit 200 controls each part of the ophthalmicapparatus 1. Further, the arithmetic and control unit 200 executesvarious kinds of arithmetic processes. For example, the arithmetic andcontrol unit 200 applies signal processing such as Fourier transform onthe spectral distribution acquired by the spectrometer 130, to createreflection intensity profiles respectively for A-lines. Furthermore, thearithmetic and control unit 200 applies imaging processing to thereflection intensity profiles for the A-lines to construct image data.Arithmetic processes for the image data construction are the same asthose of conventional spectral domain OCT.

The arithmetic and control unit 200 includes, for example; a processor,random access memory (RAM), read only memory (ROM), hard disk drive, andcommunication interface. A storage device such the hard disk drivestores various kinds of computer programs. The arithmetic and controlunit 200 may include an operation device, input device, display device,etc.

<User Interface 240>

The user interface 240 includes the display device 241 and the operationdevice 242. The display device 241 includes the display device 3. Theoperation device 242 includes various kinds of operation devices andinput devices. The user interface 240 may include a device having bothdisplay and operation functions, such as a touch panel display. Someembodiments may be configured not to include at least part of the userinterface 240. For example, the display device may be an external deviceconnected to the ophthalmic apparatus.

<Anterior Eye Segment Cameras 300>

The anterior eye segment cameras 300 photograph the anterior eye segmentof the subject's eye E from two or more different directions. Theanterior eye segment camera 300 includes an imaging element such as aCOD image sensor or CMOS image sensor. The present embodiment includesthe two anterior eye segment cameras 300 placed on the surface of thefundus camera unit 2 on the subject side (see the anterior eye segmentcameras 300A and 300B illustrated in FIG. 4A). As shown in FIG. 1 andFIG. 4A, the anterior eye segment cameras 300A and 3003 are placed inpositions outside the optical path that passes through the objectivelens 22. Hereinafter, any one or both of the anterior eye segmentcameras 300A and 300B may be denoted by the reference symbol “300”. Inaddition, anterior eye segment cameras that can be adopted instead ofthe anterior eye segment cameras 300A and 300B may be denoted by thereference symbol “300”.

Although the two anterior eye segment cameras 300A and 3003 are providedin the present embodiment, the number of the anterior eye segmentcameras 300 may be any number of two or more. In consideration of thecalculation processing described later, it is sufficient to employ (butnot limited to) a configuration capable of photographing the anterioreye segment from two different directions. Alternatively, one or moremovable anterior eye segment camera 300 may be provided to sequentiallyperform two or more times of anterior eye segment photography at two ormore different positions.

The present embodiment is provided with the anterior eye segment cameras300 separately from the illumination optical system 10 and thephotography optical system 30. However, for example, the photographyoptical system 30 can be used for anterior eye segment photography. Inother words, one of the two or more anterior eye segment cameras 300 maybe the photography optical system 30. The anterior eye segment cameras300 of the present embodiment may be capable of photographing theanterior eye segment from two (or more) directions different from eachother.

A configuration for illuminating the anterior eye segment may beprovided. The anterior eye segment illuminating means may include one ormore light sources. Typically, at least one light source (e.g., infraredlight source(s)) may be provided in the vicinity of each of the two ormore anterior eye segment cameras 300.

In the case where the two or more anterior eye segment cameras 300 areprovided, the anterior eye segment may be photographed substantiallysimultaneously from two or more different directions. The substantiallysimultaneous photography here means that the case where the photographytimings by the two or more anterior eye segment cameras aresimultaneous. In addition, this also means to tolerate, for example, anegligible time lag hi photography with respect to eye movement. Suchsubstantially simultaneous photography enables the two or more anterioreye segment cameras to capture two or more images of the subject's eye Ein substantially the same position and orientation.

The photography with two or more anterior eye segment cameras may bemotion-picture photography or still-picture photography. In the case ofmotion-picture photography, the substantially simultaneous anterior eyesegment photography described above can be achieved by matchingphotography start timings of the two or more anterior eye segmentcameras, or by controlling frame rates and/or frame capture timingsthereof. On the other hand, in the case of still-picture photography,substantially simultaneous anterior eye segment photography can beachieved by controlling capture timings of the two or more anterior eyesegment cameras,

<Control System>

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B show an example of the configuration of the controlsystem (processing system) of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. Thecontrolling circuitry 210, the image constructing circuitry 220 and thedata processing circuitry 230 are provided, for example, in thearithmetic and control unit 200.

<Controlling Circuitry 210>

The controlling circuitry 210 includes a processor and controls eachpart of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The controlling circuitry 210includes the main controlling circuitry 211 and the memory 212.

<Main Controlling Circuitry 211>

The main controlling circuitry 211 includes a processor, and controlseach element of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 (including the elements shownin FIG. 1 to FIG. 3B). The main controlling circuitry 211 is realized bythe cooperation of hardware including a circuit (circuitry) andcontrolling software.

The photography focusing lens 31 disposed in the photography opticalpath and the focus optical system 60 disposed in the illuminationoptical path are moved in an integral or interlocking manner by aphotography focus driver (not shown) under control of the maincontrolling circuitry 211. The retroreflector 41 disposed in themeasurement arm is moved by the retroreflector driver (RR driver) 41Aunder control of the main controlling circuitry 211. The OCT focusinglens 43 disposed in the measurement arm is moved by the OCT focus driver43A under control of the main controlling circuitry 211. Note that themovement of the OCT focusing lens 43 can be performed in an interlockingmanner with the movement of the photography focusing lens 31 and thefocus optical system 60. The retroreflector 114 disposed in thereference arm is moved by the retroreflector driver (RR driver) 114Aunder control of the main controlling circuitry 211. Each of themechanisms exemplified here typically includes an actuator such as apulse motor that operates under control of the main controllingcircuitry 211. The optical scanner 44 disposed in the measurement armoperates under control of the main controlling circuitry 211. Further,the main controlling circuitry 211 can control any of the elementsincluded in the ophthalmic apparatus 1 such as the polarizationcontroller 103, the polarization controller 118; the attenuator 120;various kinds of light sources; various kinds of optical elements;various kinds of devices; and various kinds of mechanisms. Also, themain controlling circuitry 211 may be configured to execute control ofany peripheral device (apparatus; equipment, instrument, device, etc.)connected to the ophthalmic apparatus 1; and/or control of anyapparatus; equipment, instrument; device, etc. accessible by theophthalmic apparatus 1.

The movement mechanism 150 moves, for example, at least the funduscamera unit 2 in a three dimensional manner. In a typical example, themovement mechanism 150 includes the followings: an x stage movable inthe +x and −x directions (i.e., left and right directions); an xmovement mechanism that moves the x stage; a y stage movable in the +yand −y directions (i.e., up and down directions); a y movement mechanismthat moves the y stage; a z stage movable in the +z and −z directions(i.e., depth direction); and a z movement mechanism that moves the zstage. Each of the movement mechanisms described here includes anactuator such as a pulse motor that operates under control of the maincontrolling circuitry 211.

<Memory 212>

The memory 212 stores various kinds of data, Examples of the data storedin the memory 212 include image data of OCT images, image data of fundusimages, and subject's eye information. The subject's eye informationincludes subject information such as patient IDs and patient's names,identification information for the left eye and the right eye, andelectronic medical record information.

<Image Constructing Circuitry 220>

The image constructing circuitry 220 constructs OCT image data based ondata acquired by the spectrometer 130. The image constructing circuitry220 includes a processor. The image constructing circuitry 220 isrealized by the cooperation of hardware including a circuit (circuitry)and image constructing software.

The image constructing circuitry 220 constructs cross sectional imagedata based on data acquired by the spectrometer 130. The imageconstructing processing includes signal processing such as sampling (A/Dconversion), noise elimination (noise reduction), filtering, fastFourier transform (FFT), and other processes as in conventional spectraldomain OCT.

Image data constructed by the image constructing circuitry 220 is a dataset including a group of a plurality of pieces of image data (a group ofa plurality of pieces of A-scan image data or an A-scan image datagroup) constructed by applying imaging processing to reflectionintensity profiles at corresponding A-lines arranged in the area towhich OCT scans are applied. An A-line is a scan line lying along the zdirection.

Image data constructed by the image constructing circuitry 220 is, forexample, B-scan image data or stack data. Stack data is constructed byembedding a plurality of pieces of B-scan image data in a single threedimensional coordinate system. The image constructing circuitry 220 mayapply voxelization processing to stack data to construct volume data(voxel data). Stack data and volume data are typical examples of threedimensional image data. Three dimensional image data is image data thatis represented by a three dimensional coordinate system.

The image constructing circuitry 220 may be configured to apply imageprocessing to three dimensional image data. For example, the imageconstructing circuitry 220 may construct new image data by applyingrendering to three dimensional image data. Examples of the renderingmethod include volume rendering, maximum intensity projection (MIP),minimum intensity projection (MinIP), surface rendering, and multiplanar reconstruction (MPR). Further, the image constructing circuitry220 may be configured to construct projection data by projecting threedimensional image data in the z direction (i.e., the A-line direction orthe depth direction). In addition, the image constructing circuitry 220may be configured to construct a shadowgram by projecting part of threedimensional image data (i.e., three dimensional partial image data) inthe z direction. Three dimensional partial image data is designated, forexample, by applying segmentation to three dimensional image data.

<Data Processing Circuitry 230>

The data processing circuitry 230 performs various kinds of dataprocessing. For example, the data processing circuitry 230 may beconfigured to apply image processing and/or analysis processing to OCTimage data, and/or, apply image processing and/or analysis processing toobservation image data and/or photographed image data. The dataprocessing circuitry 230 includes, for example, at least one of aprocessor and a dedicated circuit board. The data processing circuitry230 is realized by the cooperation of hardware including a circuit(circuitry) and data processing software.

Next, the functional configuration of the ophthalmic apparatus 1realized by the elements (hardware elements, software elements) shown inFIG. 1 to FIG. 3A will be described. FIG. 3B shows an example of thefunctional configuration of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. Note that, ofthe elements shown in FIG. 33 , the same elements as in FIG. 3A areindicated by the same reference symbols.

<Scanner 410>

The scanner 410 applies OCT scans to the subject's eye E to acquiredata. The data acquired by the scanner 410 may be any kind of data fromamong, for example, the first data acquired by the spectrometer 130, thesecond data generated by the image constructing circuitry 220 from thefirst data (e.g., sampling data, reflection intensity profile, or imagedata), and data generated by the data processing circuitry 230 from thesecond data (e.g., image data). As such, the scanner 410 include atleast the spectrometer 130, may further include at least part of theimage constructing circuitry 220, and may still further include at leastpart of the data processing circuitry 230.

The scanner 410 includes an interference optical system including themeasurement arm that guides the measurement light LS to the subject'seye E and the reference arm that guides the reference light LR. Asdescribed above, the measurement arm is provided with the OCT focusinglens 43, the optical scanner 44, etc., and the reference arm is providedwith the polarization controller 118, the attenuator 120, etc. Theinterference optical system includes the spectrometer 130.

Further, the scanner 410 includes an arm length changer provided in atleast one of the measurement arm and the reference arm. The arm lengthchanger includes any one or both of the combination of theretroreflector 41 and the retroreflector driver 41A and the combinationof the retroreflector 114 and the retroreflector driver 114A. The armlength changer changes the arm length under the control of the scancontrolling circuitry 450 described later. More specifically, in thecase where the arm length changer includes the combination of theretroreflector 41 and the retroreflector driver 41A, the arm lengthchanger can change the measurement arm length. In the case where the armlength changer includes the combination of the retroreflector 114 andthe retroreflector driver 114A, the arm length changer can change thereference arm length.

<Deviation Detector 420>

The deviation detector 420 measures the deviation (or positional error)of the subject's eye E with respect to a reference position set inadvance. The alignment controlling circuitry 440, which will bedescribed later, performs alignment control based on the measurementresult of the deviation (deviation information) acquired by thedeviation detector 420. The alignment control includes control of themovement mechanism 150 on the basis of the deviation information. Forexample, the alignment control is a process of moving the optical systemto cancel (eliminate) the deviation obtained by the deviation detector420. The optical system moved includes at least the measurement arm.

The deviation of the subject's eye E from the reference position is arelative position with respect to the reference position, and istypically a vector quantity that possesses both magnitude and direction.

The reference position may be set based on, for example, the opticalsystem configuration of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. The referenceposition typically includes a reference position in the x direction, areference position in the y direction, and a reference position in the zdirection. In other words, the reference position is typically a threedimensional position. The reference position is not limited to such athree dimensional position, and may be a two dimensional position or aone dimensional position.

As described above, the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect tothe reference position is a relative position. Therefore, in the casewhere the reference position is set based on the optical systemconfiguration of the ophthalmic apparatus 1, the deviation of thesubject's eye E with respect to the optical system of the ophthalmicapparatus 1 and the deviation of the optical system with respect to thesubject's eye E are identical with each other, Even in the event thatthe reference position is not set based on the optical system of theophthalmic apparatus 1, the deviation of the subject's eye E withrespect to the optical system of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 and thedeviation with respect to the optical system with respect to thesubject's eye E are identical with each other for that referenceposition.

The combination of the reference position in the x direction and thereference position in the y direction (xy reference position) is, forexample, the position of the optical axis of the ophthalmic apparatus 1(optical axis position). The optical axis position may be the positionof the optical axis of the objective lens 22. If this is the case, thedeviation detector 420 may be configured to determine the deviation ofsubject's eye E with respect to the optical axis position in the xyplane (i.e., the xy coordinate system).

On the other hand, the reference position in the z direction (zreference position) is, for example, a position distant from the opticalsystem (front surface of the objective lens 22) of the ophthalmicapparatus 1 by a predetermined distance in the +z direction. In such acase, the deviation detector 420 may be configured to determine thedeviation of the subject's eye E with respect to the z referenceposition in the z direction (i.e., the z coordinate).

The predetermined distance in the definition of the z reference positionis, for example, a working distance set in advance or a distanceobtained by adding a predetermined value to the working distance.Examples of the predetermined value include a half value of cornealcurvature radius and the distance between cornea and pupil.

In the case where alignment is performed using the corneal surface as areference, the working distance may be adopted to be the predetermineddistance. In the case where alignment is performed using the bright spot(Purkinje image) formed on the anterior eye segment as a reference thedistance obtained by adding a half value of the corneal curvature radiusto the working distance may be adopted to be the predetermined distance.In the case where alignment is performed using the pupil as a reference,the distance obtained by adding the value of the cornea-pupil distanceto the working distance may be adopted to be the predetermined distance.Note that the corneal curvature radius and the cornea-pupil distance maybe the values obtained by actual measurement of the subject's eye E.

An example of the three dimensional reference position is a positiondistant from the front surface of the objective lens 22 by thepredetermined distance in the +z direction on the optical axis of theophthalmic apparatus 1.

It is necessary to define the position of the subject's eye E in orderto obtain the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to thereference position. The position of the subject's eye E is defined, forexample, to be the position of the bright spot formed on the anterioreye segment, the position of the pupil center (the position of thecenter of gravity of the pupil), or the position of the corneal apex.

In the case where the position of the subject's eye E is defined to bethe bright spot position, the deviation detector 420 may be configuredto specify the bright spot positions from two anterior eye segmentimages acquired by the two anterior eye segment cameras 300, anddetermine the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to thereference position. The processes of this example may be carried out,for example, in accordance with the processing method disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-074115 andJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-225638 filedby the present applicant.

In the case where the position of the subject's eye E is defined to bethe pupil center position, the deviation detector 420 may be configuredto specify the pupil center positions from two anterior eye segmentimages acquired by the two anterior eye segment cameras 300, anddetermine the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to thereference position. The processes of this example may be carried out,for example, in accordance with the processing method disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2013-248376 andJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-225638 filedby the present applicant.

In the case where the position of the subject's eye E is defined to bethe corneal apex position, the deviation detector 420 may be configuredto specify the corneal apex positions from two anterior eye segmentimages acquired by the two anterior eye segment cameras 300, anddetermine the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to thereference position. The processes of this example may be carried out,for example, in accordance with the processing method disclosed inJapanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-225638 filedby the present applicant.

Note that the definition of the reference position, the definition ofthe position of the subject's eye E, the processing method forspecifying the position of the subject's eye E, and the method ofcalculating the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to thereference position are not limited to the examples described above andmay be arbitrary. For example, an alignment method based on thepositional relationship between two bright spots, or an alignment methodusing an optical lever may be employed.

The deviation detector 420 shown in Fla 3B is an example applicable tothe case where the position of the subject's eye E is defined to be thebright spot position. The deviation detector 420 in the present exampleincludes the alignment optical system 50, the two anterior eye segmentcameras 300, and the deviation calculating circuitry 430. The deviationcalculating circuitry 430 is included in the data processing circuitry230, and is realized by the cooperation of hardware including a circuit(circuitry) and deviation calculating software.

As described above, the alignment optical system 50 projects thealignment indicator onto the anterior eye segment of the subject's eyeE. In other words, the alignment optical system 50 corresponds to aprojection system configured to project a light beam onto the anterioreye segment of the subject's eye E.

The two anterior eye segment cameras 300 photograph the anterior eyesegment of the subject's eye E from different directions during thelight beam is being projected by the alignment optical system 50. Withthis, two anterior eye segment images corresponding to directionsdifferent from each other can be obtained. In each of the anterior eyesegment images, the image of the light beam projected by the alignmentoptical system 50 is depicted. That is, the bright spot used as thealignment indicator is depicted.

The deviation calculating circuitry 430 calculates the deviation of thesubject's eye E with respect to the predetermined reference positionbased on the positions of the two bright spots rendered respectively inthe two anterior eye segment images acquired by the two anterior eyesegment cameras 300.

The deviation calculating circuitry 430 analyzes each of the twoanterior eye segment images to detect bright spots, and specifies theposition of the subject's eye E based on the two bright spots detectedfrom the two anterior eye segment images. The processes of this examplemay be carried out in a similar manner to the processing methoddisclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2017-074115 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2017-225638.

For example, the deviation calculating circuitry 430 may calculate thedistance between the subject's eye E and the ophthalmic apparatus 1(e.g., the objective lens 22) in the direction along the optical axis ofthe ophthalmic apparatus 1 (i.e., the z direction), based on therelative position of the two bright spots detected from the two anterioreye segment images. Based on the distance calculated, the alignmentcontrolling circuitry 440 may control the movement mechanism 150 in sucha way that the distance between the subject's eye E and the ophthalmicapparatus 1 in the z direction coincides with the working distance.

Further, based on the positions of the two bright spots detected fromthe two anterior eye segment images, the deviation calculating circuitry430 may calculate the deviation between the subject's eye E and theophthalmic apparatus 1 in the direction orthogonal to the z direction(i.e., the x and y directions). Based on the deviation calculated, thealignment controlling circuitry 440 may control the movement mechanism150 in such a way that the optical axis of the ophthalmic apparatus 1coincides with the axis of the subject's eye E.

In addition, in the event that no bright point is detected from any oneor both of the two anterior eye segment images, another alignment method(e.g., alignment on the basis of pupil center) may be employed.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 performs the first OCT scan and the secondOCT scan. The first OCT scan is performed on the first region includingthe first site of the subject's eye E. The first region is, for example,the anterior eye segment region, and the first site is, for example, thecorneal surface. The second OCT scan is performed on the second regionincluding the second site. The second region is, for example, theposterior eye segment region, and the second site is, for example, theretinal surface. Details of the first and second OCT scans will bedescribed later. The deviation detector 420 performs the first deviationmeasurement prior to the first OCT scan to acquire the first deviationinformation, and further performs the second deviation measurement priorto the second OCT scan to acquire the second deviation information.Typically, the first deviation measurement is performed immediatelybefore the first OCT scan, and the second deviation measurement isperformed immediately before the second OCT scan.

The execution order of the first OCT scan and the second OCT scan isarbitrary. The second OCT scan may be performed after the first OCTscan, or the first OCT scan may be performed after the second OCT scan.

<Alignment Controlling Circuitry 440>

The alignment controlling circuitry 440 performs the first alignmentcontrol and the second alignment control. The first alignment control isexecuted to control the movement mechanism 150 based on the firstdeviation information acquired by the deviation detector 420 prior tothe first OCT scan. The second alignment control is executed to controlthe movement mechanism 150 based on the second deviation informationacquired by the deviation detector 420 prior to the second OCT scan.

For example, in the same manner as the alignment method disclosed in anyone of Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2017-074115, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2017-225638, and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No.2013-248376, the alignment controlling circuitry 440 performs the firstalignment control so as to cancel out the deviation indicated by thefirst deviation information, and also performs the second alignmentcontrol so as to cancel out the deviation indicated by the seconddeviation information.

The alignment controlling circuitry 440 is included in the controllingcircuitry 210, and is realized by the cooperation of hardware includinga circuit (circuitry) and alignment controlling software.

<Scan Controlling Circuitry 450>

The scan controlling circuitry 450 performs control for the first andsecond OCT scans described above. More specifically, the scancontrolling circuitry 450 performs the followings: the first scancontrol for causing the scanner 410 to perform the first OCT scan on thefirst region (e.g., the anterior eye segment region) including the firstsite (e.g., the corneal surface) of the subject's eye E; and the secondscan control for causing the scanner 410 to perform the second OCT scanon the second region (e.g., the posterior eye segment region) includingthe second site (e.g., the retinal surface).

Each of the first scan control and the second scan control includes, forexample, control of the arm length changer (any one or both of theretroreflector driver 41A and the retroreflector driver 114A), controlof the light source unit 101, and control of the optical scanner 44.Note that each of the first scan control and the second scan control mayfurther include any of the followings: control of the polarizationcontroller 103; control of the polarization controller 118; control ofthe attenuator 120; and control of the OCT focus driver 43A. Examples ofthe first scan control and the second scan control will be describedlater.

The scan controlling circuitry 450 is included in the controllingcircuitry 210; and is realized by the cooperation of hardware includinga circuit (circuitry) and scan controlling software.

<Distance Calculating Circuitry 460>

The distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the distance betweenthe first site included in the target area of the first OCT scan and thesecond site included in the target area of the second OCT scan, based onthe first data acquired by the first OCT scan and the second dataacquired by the second OCT scan. In other words, the distancecalculating circuitry 460 calculates the distance between the first siteand the second site of the subject's eye E based on the first dataacquired by the scanner 410 under the first scan control and the seconddata acquired by the scanner 410 under the second scan control.

For example, in the case where the first site is the corneal surface andthe second site is the retinal surface, that is, in the case where thefirst OCT scan is applied to the anterior eye segment region including(at least part of) the corneal surface, and where the second OCT scan isapplied to the posterior eye segment region including (at least part of)the retinal surface; the distance calculating circuitry 460 maycalculate the distance between the corneal surface and the retinalsurface. Typically, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may calculatethe axial length indicating the distance between the corneal apex andthe macular center (fovea centralis).

For example, the distance calculating circuitry 460 performs thedistance calculation by a series of processes (first to fourthprocesses) shown below. Here, the execution order of the first to thirdprocesses is arbitrary, and any two or more of these processes may beperformed in parallel.

In the first process, the distance calculating circuitry 460 calculatesthe difference between the first arm length applied at the time of thefirst scan control, and the second arm length applied at the time of thesecond scan control. The first arm length and the second arm length areobtained, for example, from the scan controlling circuitry 450 that hasperformed the first scan control and the second scan control.Alternatively, any one or both of the first arm length and the secondarm length may be detected with a means of detecting the arm length. Thearm length detecting means is, for example, a position sensor configuredto detect any one or both of the position of the retroreflector 41 andthat of the retroreflector 114.

In the second process, the distance calculating circuitry 460 analyzesthe first data acquired by the scanner 410 under the first scan control,to specify a position (first position) in the first data correspondingto the first site of the subject's eye E. For example, in the case wherethe first site is the corneal surface, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460 analyzes the first data acquired by applying the first OCTscan to the anterior eye segment region, to specify the first positioncorresponding to the corneal surface of the subject's eye E (typicallythe corneal apex). Typically, the first position is a signal position inthe reflection intensity profile generated from the detection signalacquired in the first OCT scan, or a pixel position in A-scan image dataconstructed from the reflection intensity profile.

In the third process, the distance calculating circuitry 460 analyzesthe second data acquired by the scanner 410 under the second scancontrol, to specify a position (second position) in the second datacorresponding to the second site of the subject's eye E. For example, inthe case where the second site is the retinal surface, the distancecalculating circuitry 460 analyzes the second data acquired by applyingthe second OCT scan to the posterior eye segment region, to specify thesecond position corresponding to the retinal surface of the subject'seye E (typically the macular center). Typically, the second position isa signal position in the reflection intensity profile generated from thedetection signal acquired in the second OCT scan, or a pixel position inA-scan image data constructed from the reflection intensity profile.

In the fourth process, the distance calculating circuitry 460 calculatesthe distance between the first site and the second site, based on thearm length difference calculated in the first process, the firstposition specified in the second process, and the second positionspecified in the third process.

Typically, in the fourth process, the distance calculating circuitry 460determines a value of the axial length of the subject's eye E, based onthe arm length difference calculated in the first process, the cornealapex position specified in the second process, and the macular centerposition specified in the third process. FIG. 5 illustrates a schema ofthe arithmetic processing.

The corneal apex of the subject's eye E is indicated by the referencesymbol C, and the macular center is indicated by the reference symbol M.The reference symbols A₁ and A₂ indicate the first OCT scan and thesecond OCT scan, respectively. Each of the first OCT scan A₁ and thesecond OCT scan A₂ in the present example is an A-scan. FIG. 5illustrates a case where the first OCT scan A₁ and the second OCT scanA₂ both are performed under appropriate alignment states. That is, FIG.5 shows a case where the first OCT scan A₁ is performed on an A-linethat passes through the corneal apex C, and the second OCT scan A₂ isperformed on an A-line that passes through the macular center M.

The reflection intensity profile acquired by the first OCT scan A₁ isindicated by the reference symbol P₁, and the reflection intensityprofile acquired by the second OCT scan A₂ is indicated by the referencesymbol P₂. The z coordinate axis in which the first reflection intensityprofile P₁ is defined is represented by “z₁”, and the z coordinate axisin which the second reflection intensity profile P₂ is defined isrepresented by “z₂”.

The first OCT scan A₁ on the anterior eye segment region is performed ina state that the coherence gate is disposed at an arbitrary position inthe anterior eye segment. For example, the coherence gate is disposed ata position distant from the corneal apex C by a half distance of thecorneal curvature radius in the +z direction. A bright spot is formed atthis position. The reference symbol z₁(0) indicates the coherence gateposition applied at the time of the first OCT scan A₁ of the presentexample.

On the other hand, the second OCT scan A₂ for the posterior eye segmentregion is performed in a state that the coherence gate is disposed at anarbitrary position in the posterior eye segment. For example, thecoherence gate is disposed in the vitreous body at a position near theretinal surface. The reference symbol z₂(0) indicates the coherence gateposition applied at the time of the second OCT scan A₂ of the presentexample.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the difference betweenthe coherence gate position z₁(0) applied at the time of the first OCTscan A₁ and the coherence gate position z₂(0) applied at the time of thesecond OCT scan A₂. The difference is indicated by the reference symbolΔz₁₂ in FIG. 5 , and corresponds to the arm length difference betweenthe first OCT scan A₁ and the second OCT scan A₂. This process is anexample of the first process described above.

The first reflection intensity profile P₁ includes a peak correspondingto the corneal front surface, a peak corresponding to the corneal backsurface, a peak corresponding to the crystalline lens front surface, anda peak corresponding to the crystalline lens back surface. The distancecalculating circuitry 460 specifies a peak corresponding to the cornealfront surface from among the peaks in the first reflection intensityprofile P₁. The peak specification includes, for example, a process ofspecifying the peak of maximum intensity. Alternatively, the peakspecification may include a process of specifying the peak having thesmallest z₁ coordinate value (i.e., the peak located on the most −z₁side) from among the peaks whose intensities exceed a predeterminedthreshold. The z coordinate value of the peak corresponding to thecorneal front surface thus specified is represented by “z_(C)”. The z₁coordinate value z_(C) in the present example corresponds to theposition of the corneal apex C. The process of determining the z₁coordinate value z_(C) is an example of the second process describedabove.

The second reflection intensity profile P₂ includes a peak correspondingto the retinal surface, and also a plurality of peaks corresponding tothe retinal inner layers, and peaks corresponding to the choroid. Thedistance calculating circuitry 460 specifies a peak corresponding to theretinal surface from among the peaks in the second reflection intensityprofile P₂. The peak specification includes, for example, a process ofspecifying the peak of maximum intensity. Alternatively, the peakspecification may include a process of specifying the peak having thesmallest z₂ coordinate value (i.e., the peak located on the most −z₂side) from among the peaks having intensities exceeding a predeterminedthreshold. The z₂ coordinate value of the peak corresponding to theretinal surface thus specified is represented by “z_(M)”. The z₂coordinate value z_(M) in the present example corresponds to theposition of the macular center M. The process of determining the z₂coordinate value z_(M) is an example of the third process describedabove.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the distance (axiallength) between the corneal apex C and the macular center M, based onthe arm length difference Δz₁₂ calculated in the first process, thecorneal apex position z_(C) specified in the second process, and thepupil center position z_(M) specified in the third process. In theexample shown in FIG. 5 , the axial length AL is calculated using thefollowing formula: AL=Δz₁₂ +(z₁(0)−z_(C))+(z_(M)−z₂(0)). The positivesigns and negative signs in the right hand side of the formula aredetermined according to the setting of the coherence gate position, thesetting of the first site, the setting of the second site, etc. Ingeneral, the axial length AL is calculated using the following formula:AL=Δz₁₂±|z_(C)−z₁(0)|±|z_(M)−z₂(0)|. The process of calculating thedistance, such as the axial length, is an example of the fourth process.

<Operations>

Some examples of the operation of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 accordingto the present embodiment will be described. FIG. 6 shows an example ofthe operation of the ophthalmic apparatus 1. In the present operationexample, a fixation target for macula imaging is presented to thesubject's eye E.

(S1: Perform Alignment)

First, alignment of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 is performed with respectto the subject's eye E.

In the present example, the alignment controlling circuitry 440 firstturns on the light emitting diode 51 of the alignment optical system 50.With this, a light beam is projected onto the anterior eye segment ofthe subject's eye E, and a bright spot is formed in the anterior eyesegment. The two anterior eye segment cameras 300 photograph theanterior eye segment, onto which the light beam is being projected, fromdirections different from each other. As a result, a pair of anterioreye segment images in which the bright spot is photographed areobtained.

The deviation calculating circuitry 430 specifies the bright spotposition from each of the pair of anterior eye segment images, anddetermines the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to apredetermined reference position. The alignment controlling circuitry440 controls the movement mechanism 150 so as to cancel the deviationcalculated by the deviation calculating circuitry 430.

In the present example, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 repeatedly performs aseries of processes at predetermined time intervals, the series ofprocesses including anterior eye segment photography with the twoanterior eye segment cameras 300, deviation calculation with thedeviation calculation circuitry 430, and movement control with thealignment controlling circuitry 440. The series of processes allowsgradual improvement of the alignment state and also maintenance of anappropriate alignment state. The maintenance of the appropriatealignment state is referred to as tracking.

(S2: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Cornea)

After the appropriate alignment state has been achieved by step S1, thescan controlling circuitry 450 (and the data processing circuitry 230)changes any one or both of the measurement arm length and the referencearm length in such a way that a signal corresponding to the cornea ofthe subject's eye E can be obtained. Here, the measurement arm length ischanged by controlling the retroreflector driver 41A, and the referencearm length is changed by controlling the retroreflector driver 114A.

Further, in consideration of the fact that the position of the cornea isdetermined by the working distance, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 maycontrol a retroreflector driver (i.e., any one or both of theretroreflector driver 41A and the retroreflector driver 114A) by apredetermined control amount in such a way that a retroreflector any oneor both of the retroreflector 41 and the retroreflector 114) is disposedat a position corresponding to an arm length (i.e., any one or both ofthe measurement arm length and the reference arm length) at which asignal from the corneal position determined by the predetermined workingdistance can be detected.

The process in step S2 includes, for example, the process referred to as“Auto-Z” disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application PublicationNo. 2017-184874 filed by the present applicant. Auto-Z is an automaticprocess of searching for an appropriate arm length. The appropriate armlength here is an arm length with which the signal of the cornea can beobtained, Note that the arm length adjustment in step S2 may beperformed by a process different from Auto-Z. further, a process called“Z-lock” disclosed in the same patent application publication may beperformed in addition to Auto-Z. Z-lock is an automatic process ofmaintaining a preferred imaging state that has been achieved by Auto-Z.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 may be configured to perform alignment in thesame manner as in step S1 again, after the arm length adjustment in stepS2.

Here, the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved to set the focus position ata vicinity of the cornea. For example, since the position of the corneais determined by the working distance as described above, thecorresponding position of the OCT focusing lens 43 may be determined inadvance and the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved to that position.Further, in consideration of that fact that the signal intensity fromthe front surface of the cornea is high, the OCT focusing lens 43 may bemoved to focus on the retina at the time of acquiring the signal of thecornea. If this is the case, the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved in aninterlocking manner with the movement of the focusing optical system 60,or the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved by a movement amount determinedusing the focusing optical system 60.

(S3: Apply OCT Scan to Anterior Eye Segment)

After the completion of the arm length adjustment in step S2, the scancontrolling circuitry 450 performs control for applying an OCT scan tothe anterior eye segment of the subject's eye E. In the present example,the scan controlling circuitry 450 performs the first scan control forcausing the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the anterior eyesegment region including the corneal surface of the subject's eye E.

The OCT scan applied here is, for example, an A-scan. Some cases ofapplying other scan modes will be described later.

(S4: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the mage constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan ofstep S3. The reflection intensity profile generated here is datacorresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in step S3.

(S5: Record Retroreflector Position and Reflection Intensity Profile)

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculating circuitry460) records the position of the retroreflector at the time of the OCTscan of step S3 being performed, and the reflection intensity profilegenerated in step S4.

In the case where the measurement arm length has been changed in stepS2, the position of the retroreflector 41 is recorded. In the case wherethe reference arm length has been changed in step S2, the position ofthe retroreflector 114 is recorded. Here, the position of theretroreflector 41 can be determined, for example, based on the contentof the control for the retroreflector driver 41A, or determined bydetection of the position of the retroreflector 41. Similarly, theposition of the retroreflector 114 can be determined, for example, basedon the content of the control for the retroreflector driver 114A ordetermined by detection of the position of the retroreflector 114.

(S6: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Retina)

Next, the scan controlling circuitry 450 (and the data processingcircuitry 230) changes any one or both of the measurement arm length andthe reference arm length to obtain a signal corresponding to the retinaof the subject's eye E. This process is performed in a similar manner tothat in step S2.

(S7: Perform Alignment)

After the arm length adjustment in step 36 has been completed, thealignment of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 with respect to the subject'seye E is performed. The alignment is performed in the same manner as instep S1.

In the case where the OCT focusing lens 43 is moved to focus on thecornea or the vicinity thereof for acquiring the signal from the cornea(as described above), the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved to focus onthe retina at this stage. At this time, the OCT focusing lens 43 may bemoved in an interlocking manner with the movement of the focusingoptical system 60, or the OCT focusing lens 43 may be moved by amovement amount determined using the focusing optical system 60.

(S8: Apply OCT Scan to Posterior Eye Segment)

After the alignment in step S7 has been completed, the scan controllingcircuitry 450 performs control for applying an OCT scan to the posterioreye segment of the subject's eye E. In the present example, the scancontrolling circuitry 450 performs the second scan control for causingthe scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the posterior eye segmentregion including the retinal surface of the subject's eye E.

The OCT scan applied here is, for example, an A-scan. Some cases ofapplying other scan modes will be described later.

(S9: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the image constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan ofstep 38. The reflection intensity profile generated here is datacorresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in step S8.

(S10: Record Retroreflector Position and Reflection Intensity Profile)

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculating circuitry460) records the position of the retroreflector at the time of the OCTscan of step 38 being performed, and the reflection intensity profilegenerated in step S9. This process is performed in the same manner as instep S5.

(S11: Calculate Axial Length)

The distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the distance betweenthe corneal surface and the retinal surface based on the retroreflectorposition and the reflection intensity profile recorded in step S5 andthe retroreflector position and the reflection intensity profilerecorded in step S10.

In the present example, the distance calculating circuitry 460 firstcalculates the difference between the first arm length and the secondarm length based on the retroreflector position recorded in step S5(that is, the first arm length applied to the anterior eye segment OCTscan) and the retroreflector position recorded in step S10 (that is, thesecond arm length applied to the posterior eye segment OCT scan).Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460 analyzes the reflectionintensity profile recorded in step S5 to specify a positioncorresponding to the corneal surface (the first position), and analyzesthe reflection intensity profile recorded in step S10 to specify aposition corresponding to the retinal surface (the second position).Then, the distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the axial lengthof the subject's eye E based on the difference between the arm lengths,the first position, and the second position. This terminates theoperation according to the present operation example (End).

<Modifications of the First Embodiment>

Some modifications applicable to the ophthalmic apparatus 1 according tothe first embodiment will be described. Unless otherwise mentioned, thereference symbols used in the description of the ophthalmic apparatus 1will be used in the following description.

First Modification Example

For example, if the subject's eye suffers from eye floaters(myodesopsia), turbidity/floaters moving in the vitreous body canadversely affect the posterior eye segment OCT scan.

In order to address this issue, a plurality of OCT scans may be appliedto the posterior eye segment. Such repetitive OCT scan is performed bythe scanner 410 under the control of the scan controlling circuitry 450.Each OCT scan therein is typically an A-scan, but is not limitedthereto, and may be any scan mode such as a B-scan or a threedimensional scan.

An example of an applicable repetitive OCT scan (a plurality of OCTscans) is described. The ophthalmic apparatus of the present examplefirst carries out an A-scan. In the case where the distance measurementcannot be appropriately performed even after the A-scan has beenrepeated a predetermined number of times (e.g., 10 times), theophthalmic apparatus of the present example switches the scan mode fromthe A-scan mode to another scan mode. Another scan mode here is, forexample, a B-scan. The judgment as to whether or not the distancemeasurement has been carried out appropriately includes, for example,comparing the intensity of the interference signal obtained by the OCTscan (A-scan at this stage) with a predetermined threshold. If theinterference signal intensity is equal to or higher than the thresholdvalue, the ophthalmic apparatus of the present example determines thatthe distance measurement has been appropriately performed. On the otherhand, if the interference signal intensity is less than the thresholdvalue, the ophthalmic apparatus of the present example determines thatthe distance measurement has not been appropriately performed. The scanline length of the B-scan of the present example is optional, and istypically shorter than that of normal B-scans (e.g., 1 mm in length forthe present example). In the case where the distance measurement cannotbe appropriately performed even after the B-scan has been repeated thepredetermined number of times (e.g., 10 times), the ophthalmic apparatusof the present example again switches the scan mode from the B-scan toanother scan mode. The scan pattern of this another scan mode is, forexample, a radial scan. The determination as to whether or not thedistance measurement with the B-scan has been carried out appropriatelyis performed in the same manner as in the case of the A-scan. The sizeof the radial scan in the present example is arbitrary, and typicallysmaller than that of normal radial scans (e.g., each scan line having alength of 1 mm for the present example). By performing the scan modeswitching as described above, a signal corresponding to the retina canbe obtained at some stage.

More generally, the ophthalmic apparatus of the present example firstapplies the first scan mode. The ophthalmic apparatus of the presentexample determines whether or not the data obtained by the OCT scan inthe first scan mode meets a predetermined condition. In the case wherethe condition is not satisfied even after the OCT scan in the first scanmode has been repeated a predetermined number of times, the ophthalmicapparatus of the present example switches the scan mode from the firstscan mode to the second scan mode. The ophthalmic apparatus of thepresent example determines whether the data obtained by the OCT scan inthe second scan mode satisfies a predetermined condition. In the eventwhere the condition is not satisfied even after the OCT scan in thesecond scan mode has been repeated a predetermined number of times, theophthalmic apparatus of the present example switches the scan mode fromthe second scan mode to the third scan mode. In this way, the ophthalmicapparatus of the present example determines whether or not appropriatedata has been obtained by the OCT scan in the q-th scan mode byconsidering a predetermined condition. In the event where appropriatedata cannot be obtained, the ophthalmic apparatus switches the scan modefrom the q-th scan mode to the (q+1)-th scan mode to perform an OCT scan(where q is an integer 1 or larger). Here, at least two scan modes areset in advance, and one or more scan mode transition conditions are alsoset in advance. Further, for example, the (q+1)-th scan mode is appliedto a position different from the position to which the q-th scan mode isapplied, and/or, the (q+1)-th scan mode is applied to a wider area thanthe area to which the q-th scan mode is applied. By performing such ascan mode transition one after another, it becomes possible to detect asignal corresponding to the retina at some stage, even in the caseswhere floaters are present in the subject's eye.

The orientation of the optical scanner 44 (mirrors therein) may or maynot be constant in the plurality of OCT scans. In the case of constantorientation, even when one OCT scan receives the influence of turbidityor floaters by the movement of the turbidity or floaters in the vitreousbody, some other OCT scans may not be affected thereby. In the case ofinconstant orientation, the influence of the turbidity or floaters inthe vitreous body can be positively avoided. However, in the lattercase, it may be desirable to restrict the area of change in theorientation of the optical scanner 44 in such a way that the target sitefor the distance measurement (e.g., the macular center) does not deviatefrom the area to which OCT scans are applied. In particular, in the caseof applying A-scans, it is required to restrict the range of the changein the orientation of the optical scanner 44 to a very small area. Thearea of the change in the orientation of the optical scanner 44 may beset in advance, for example, according to the scan mode to be applied.

The scanner 410 generates a reflection intensity profile or image datafrom a detection signal obtained by each of the plurality of OCT scans.Thereby, a data group (a plurality of pieces of data) corresponding tothe plurality of OCT scans can be obtained.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 can acquire a single piece ofdata from the data group acquired through the plurality of OCT scans,and perform the distance calculation using the single piece of dataacquired.

For example, the distance calculating circuitry 460 can generate thesingle piece of data by synthesizing (that is, averaging) at least twopieces of data from among the plurality of pieces of data included inthe data group. By averaging two or more pieces of data obtained throughtwo or more OCT scans applied to (substantially) the same site of thesubject's eye E, noise due to turbidity or floaters in the vitreous bodyetc. can be reduced or eliminated.

In another example, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may beconfigured to select one piece of data from the data group acquiredthrough the plurality of OCT scans. In the data selection, for example,a predetermined evaluation value (e.g., contrast) that can be obtainedfrom the data may be referred to. Thereby, even in the event where anyof the plurality of pieces of data included in the data group isaffected by the turbidity or floaters in the vitreous body, non-affectedor less-affected data can be selected.

In addition, in the case where the single piece of data obtained by thedistance calculating circuitry 460 does not meet a predeterminedcondition (e.g., contrast condition), the ophthalmic apparatus of thepresent example may perform the posterior eye segment OCT scan againand/or display a message that prompts the user to instruct re-executionof the posterior eye segment OCT scan.

Second Modification Example

In order to accurately measure the distance between two sites of thesubject's eye E, it is necessary to accurately specify the two sites. Tothat end, an OCT scan may be applied to a three dimensional region ofthe subject's eye E. Examples of scan modes for that purpose include athree dimensional scan, a radial scan, and a multi-line cross scan. Theradial scan is a scan mode composed of a plurality of line scans (aplurality of B-scans) arranged in a radial pattern, and the multi-linecross scan is a scan mode composed of two groups of line scansorthogonal to each other.

In some examples, the scan controlling circuitry 450 causes the scanner410 to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensional region of thesubject's eye E in at least one of the anterior eye segment OCT scan andthe posterior eye segment OCT scan.

Typically, the scan controlling circuitry 450 may cause the scanner 410to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensional region including thecorneal surface of the subject's eye E in the anterior eye segment OCTscan. In a state where an appropriate alignment is being maintained, anOCT scan is applied to a three dimensional region of the anterior eyesegment including the corneal apex of the subject's eye E.

In addition, the scan controlling circuitry 450 causes the scanner 410to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensional region including theretinal surface of the subject's eye E in the posterior eye segment OCTscan. In a state where an appropriate alignment is being maintained, anOCT scan is applied to a three dimensional region of the posterior eyesegment including the macular center of the subject's eye E.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 may analyze the data acquired bythe OCT scan from the three dimensional region of the subject's eye E,to specify a feature position corresponding to a feature point of thesubject's eye E.

Typically, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may analyze the dataacquired by the OCT scan from the three dimensional region of theanterior eye segment including the corneal apex of the subject's eye E,to specify a feature position corresponding to the corneal apex. Thisprocess includes, for example, a process of specifying an image regioncorresponding to the corneal surface from the data of the threedimensional region of the anterior eye segment, and a process ofspecifying a feature position (corneal apex position) corresponding tothe corneal apex based on the shape of the image region.

Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may analyze the dataacquired by the OCT scan from the three dimensional region of theposterior eye segment including the macular center of the subject's eyeE, to specify a feature position corresponding to the macular center.This process includes, for example, a process of specifying an imageregion corresponding to the retinal surface (the inner limiting membraneor the like) from the data of the three dimensional region of theposterior eye segment, and a process of specifying a feature position(macular center position) corresponding to the macular center based onthe shape of the image region, the position of a predetermined tissue,the position of a predetermined site, etc. An example of thepredetermined tissue is any sub-tissue (layer tissue) of the retina, andan example of the predetermined site is the optic nerve head.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates the length of a linesegment whose one end is placed at the feature position specified. Thelength of the line segment is the distance for measurement purposes.

In the case where the corneal apex position is specified from the dataacquired by the anterior eye segment OCT scan, and also the macularcenter position is specified from the data acquired by the posterior eyesegment OCT scan, the distance calculating circuitry 460 calculates thedistance of the line segment connecting the corneal apex position andthe macular center position. The distance calculated in this waycorresponds to the axial length of the subject's eye E.

<Effects>

The effects of the ophthalmic apparatus 1 according to the firstembodiment and the modification examples thereof will be described.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 includes the scanner 410, the movementmechanism 150, the deviation detector 420, the scan controllingcircuitry 450, the alignment controlling circuitry 440, and the distancecalculating circuitry 460.

The scanner 410 is configured to apply an OCT scan to the subject's eyeE. The movement mechanism 150 is configured to move at least part of thescanner 410. The deviation detector 420 is configured to measure thedeviation of the subject's eye E with respect to a predeterminedreference position.

The scan controlling circuitry 450 is configured to perform the firstscan control and the second scan control. The first scan control causesthe scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the first region (e.g., theanterior eye segment region) including the first site of the subject'seye E (e.g., the corneal surface). The second scan control causes thescanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the second region (e.g., theposterior eye segment region) including the second site different fromthe first site (e.g., the retinal surface). The OCT scan performed underthe first scan control is referred to as the first OCT scan, and the OCTscan performed under the second scan control is referred to as thesecond OCT scan.

The alignment controlling circuitry 440 is configured to perform thefirst alignment control and the second alignment control. In the firstalignment control, the alignment controlling circuitry 440 controls themovement mechanism 150 based on the first deviation information of thesubject's eye E acquired by the deviation detector 420 prior to thefirst scan control. In the second alignment control, the alignmentcontrolling circuitry 440 controls the movement mechanism 150 based onthe second deviation information of the subject's eye E acquired by thedeviation detector 420 prior to the second scan control. Note that theophthalmic apparatus 1 may perform alignment in the x direction and they direction as well as alignment in the z direction.

The distance calculating circuitry 460 is configured to calculate thedistance between the first site and the second site (e.g., the axiallength) based on the first data acquired by the scanner 410 under thefirst scan control and the second data acquired by the scanner 410 underthe second scan control.

According to the ophthalmic apparatus 1 configured in this way, thealignment is performed prior to both the first OCT scan and the secondOCT scan. Therefore, both the first OCT scan and the second OCT scan maybe performed in appropriate alignment conditions. Thus, for example, inthe case of performing the second OCT scan after the first OCT scan,even if the subject's eye moves during the period from the first OCTscan to the second OCT scan, the alignment controlling circuitry 440controls may perform the alignment on the moved subject's eye prior tothe second OCT scan. This ensures the reliability of the distancemeasurement.

As an optional configuration, the scanner 410 of the ophthalmicapparatus 1 includes the interference optical system that includes themeasurement arm that guides the measurement light to the subject's eye,and the reference arm that guides the reference light. Further, as anoptional configuration, the scanner 410 includes the arm length changerthat is provided in at least one of the measurement arm and thereference arm, and changes the arm length under the control of the scancontrolling circuitry 450. The combination of the retroreflector 41 andthe retroreflector driver 41A is an example of the arm length changerprovided in the measurement arm. The combination of the retroreflector114 and the retroreflector driver 114A is an example of the arm lengthchanger provided in the reference arm.

In addition, as an optional configuration, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460 may perform the following series of processes: (1) theprocess of calculating the difference (the arm length difference)between the first arm length applied at the time of the first scancontrol (the first OCT scan) and the second arm length applied at thetime of the second scan control (the second OCT scan); (2) the processof analyzing the first data acquired through the first OCT scan tospecify the first position corresponding to the first site of thesubject's eye E (e.g., a signal position corresponding to the cornealsurface); (3) the process of analyzing the second data acquired in thesecond OCT scan to specify the second position corresponding to thesecond site of the subject's eye E (e.g., a signal positioncorresponding to the retinal surface); and (4) the processing ofcalculating the distance between the first site and the second site(e.g., axial length) based on the arm length difference calculated bythe process in (1), the first position specified by the process in (2),and the second position specified by the process in (3).

Such an optional configuration is capable of providing specific andconcrete processing for calculating the distance between the first siteand the second site of the subject's eye E.

As an optional configuration, the scan controlling circuitry 450 maycause the scanner 410 to perform a plurality of times of OCT scans in atleast one of the first scan control (the first OCT scan) and the secondscan control (the second OCT scan). If this is the case, the distancecalculating circuitry 460 may acquire a single piece of data from thedata group acquired by the plurality of times of OCT scans. Here, thedistance calculating circuitry 460 can generate the single piece of databy performing averaging on the data group acquired by the plurality ofOCT scans. Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may calculatethe distance between the first site and the second site using the singlepiece of data acquired.

According to the optional configuration described above, even in thecase where the turbidity or floaters moving in the vitreous bodyadversely affects the posterior eye segment OCT scan, the noise causedby the turbidity or floaters may be reduced or eliminated, and/or, thedata that is not affected by the turbidity or floaters or data that isless affected may be selected. This makes it possible to improve thereliability of the distance measurement.

As an optional configuration, the scan controlling circuitry 450 maycause the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensionalregion of the subject's eye E in at least one of the first scan control(the first OCT scan) and the second scan control (the second OCT scan).If this is the case, the distance calculating circuitry 460 may analyzesthe data acquired by the OCT scan on the three dimensional region tospecify the feature position corresponding to a feature point of thesubject's eye E. Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460 maycalculate a length of a line segment whose one end is placed at thefeature position, as the distance between the first site and the secondsite.

As the first typical example, the scan controlling circuitry 450 maycause the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensionalregion including the corneal surface of the subject's eye E in the firstscan control (the first OCT scan). Further, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460 may analyzes the data acquired by the OCT scan on thethree dimensional region to specify the feature position correspondingto the corneal apex of the subject's eye E. If this is the case, thedistance calculating circuitry 460 may calculate the length of a linesegment whose one end is placed at the corneal apex, as the distancebetween the first site and the second site.

As the second typical example, the scan controlling circuitry 450 maycause the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensionalregion including the retinal surface of the subject's eye E in thesecond scan control (the second OCT scan). Further, the distancecalculating circuitry 460 may analyzes the data acquired by the OCT scanon the three dimensional region to specify the feature positioncorresponding to the macular center of the subject's eye E. If this isthe case, the distance calculating circuitry 460 can calculate thelength of a line segment whose one end is placed at the macular center,as the distance between the first site and the second site.

By combining the first and second typical examples, the length of theline segment whose one end is placed at the corneal apex and the otherend is placed at the macular center, which corresponds to the axiallength of the subject's eye E, can be determined.

As an optional configuration, the deviation detector 420 includes thealignment optical system 50 (corresponding to the projection system),the two (or more) anterior eye segment cameras 300 (corresponding to thetwo or more cameras), and the deviation calculating circuitry 430. Thealignment optical system 50 is configured to project a light beam ontothe anterior eye segment of the subject's eye E. The two (or more)anterior eye segment cameras 300 are configured to photograph theanterior eye segment of the subject's eye E from directions differentfrom each other. The deviation calculating circuitry 430 is configuredto calculate the deviation of the subject's eye E with respect to apredetermined reference position based on positions of images of thelight beam (bright spot images) in the two (or more) anterior eyesegment images acquired by the two or more anterior eye segment cameras300.

This optional configuration may provide a specific and concreteconfiguration and processing for measuring the deviation of thesubject's eye E with respect to the predetermined reference position.

In addition, any of the items described in the first embodiment(configurations, elements, processing, processes, operations, actions,functions, etc.) and/or any of known items may be combined with theophthalmic apparatus described here.

The first embodiment provides a method of controlling an ophthalmicapparatus. The ophthalmic apparatus includes a scanner (410) configuredto apply an OCT scan to a subject's eye, a movement mechanism (150)configured to move at least part of the scanner (410), and a deviationdetector (420) configured to measure deviation of the subject's eye (E)with respect to a predetermined reference position.

The controlling method includes the first alignment control step, thefirst scan control step, the second alignment control step, the secondscan control step, and a distance calculation step.

The first alignment control step controls the movement mechanism (150)based on the first deviation information of the subject's eye (E)acquired by the deviation detector (420). The first scan control stepcauses the scanner (410) to perform an OCT scan on the first regionincluding the first site of the subject's eye (E). The OCT scanperformed under the first scan control step is referred to as the firstOCT scan.

The second alignment control step controls the movement mechanism (150)based on the second deviation information of the subject's eye (E)acquired by the deviation detector (420). The second scan control stepcauses the scanner (410) to perform an OCT scan on the second regionincluding the second site different from the first site of the subject'seye (E). The OCT scan performed under the second scan control step isreferred to as the second OCT scan.

The distance calculation step calculates a distance between the firstsite and the second site, based on the first data acquired by thescanner (410) in the first scan control step and the second dataacquired by the scanner (410) in the second scan control step.

According to the method of controlling the ophthalmic apparatus carriedout in this way, the alignment is performed prior to both the first OCTscan and the second OCT scan. Therefore, both the first OCT scan and thesecond OCT scan may be performed in appropriate alignment conditions,Thus, the reliability of the distance measurement can be ensured by thecontrolling method provided by the first embodiment.

In addition, any or the items (configurations, elements, processing,processes, operations, actions, functions, etc.) described in the firstembodiment and/or any of known items may be combined with thecontrolling method.

It is possible to configure a program for causing a computer to executesuch the above-described controlling method. The program may include,for example, any of the aforementioned programs for operating theophthalmic apparatus 1 of the first embodiment or any of itsmodification examples.

Further, a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium storingsuch a program may be created. The non-transitory recording medium maybe of any form or aspect, and examples thereof include magnetic disks,optical disks, magneto-optical disks, semiconductor memories, and thelike.

Second Embodiment

As described above, the first embodiment is designed to improve thereliability of the distance measurement of the subject's eye byperforming alignment prior to both the first and second OCT scans. Inother words, the first embodiment is designed to improve the reliabilityof the distance measurement through improving the reliability of thefirst and second OCT scans.

On the other hand, the second embodiment is designed to improve thereliability of the distance measurement by means of data processing forcorrecting an alignment error involved in OCT scans.

Hereinafter, the description of the items same as those of the firstembodiment will be omitted unless otherwise mentioned. Further, amongthe elements included in the second embodiment, the same elements asthose in the first embodiment are given the same reference symbols asthe corresponding elements in the first embodiment. Further, in thefollowing description, some elements of the first embodiment will bereferred to as required.

<Configurations>

FIG. 7 shows an example of the configuration of an ophthalmic apparatusaccording to the present embodiment. The ophthalmic apparatus 1A has thesame hardware configuration as that of the ophthalmic apparatus 1according to the first embodiment (see FIG. 1 , FIG. 2 , FIG. 3A, FIG.4A, and FIG. 4B). The configuration shown in FIG. 7 is applied in placeof the configuration shown in FIG. 3B of the first embodiment.

In the ophthalmic apparatus 1A, the scanner 410, the deviation detector420, and the movement mechanism 150 respectively have the sameconfigurations, functions, and actions as those of the first embodiment.

The scanner 410 applies an OCT scan to the subject's eye E to acquiredata. As in the first embodiment, the scanner 410 includes aninterference optical system that includes a measurement arm that guidesthe measurement light LS to the subject's eye E and a reference arm thatguides the reference light LS. Further, as in the first embodiment, thescanner 410 includes an arm length changer provided in any one or bothof the measurement arm and the reference arm.

The deviation detector 420 measures the deviation of the subject's eye Ewith respect to a predetermined reference position. As in the firstembodiment, the deviation detector 420 may include the alignment opticalsystem 50, the anterior eye segment cameras 300, and the deviationcalculating circuitry 430. The deviation detector 420 shown in FIG. 7 isan example applicable to the case where the position of the subject'seye E is defined as the bright spot position. When another definition(for example, the pupil center position or the corneal apex position) isemployed, a configuration according thereto is applied.

The alignment controlling circuitry 440A, which will be described later,is configured to perform alignment control based on the measurementresult of the deviation (deviation information) acquired by thedeviation detector 420. Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460Adescribed later is configured to calculate a distance in the subject'seye E in consideration of the deviation information acquired by thedeviation detector 420.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1A performs the first OCT scan on the firstregion (e.g., the anterior eye segment region) including the first siteof the subject's eye E (e.g., the corneal surface), and the second OCTscan on the second region (e.g., the posterior eye segment region)including the second site (e.g., the retinal surface). Details of thefirst OCT scan and second OCT scan will be described later. Note thatthe order of execution of the first OCT scan and the second OCT scan isoptional.

The deviation detector 420 is configured to perform the first deviationmeasurement corresponding to the first OCT scan to acquire the firstdeviation information, and perform the second deviation measurementcorresponding to the second OCT scan to acquire the second deviationinformation.

The first deviation measurement is performed at any timing such asbefore, during, or after the execution of the first OCT scan. Similarly,the second deviation measurement is performed at any timing such asbefore, during, or after the execution of the second OCT scan.Typically, the first deviation measurement is performed immediatelybefore, during, or immediately after the first OCT scan, and the seconddeviation measurement is performed immediately before, during, orimmediately after the second OCT scan.

The distance calculating circuitry 460A, which will be described later,is configured to calculate a predetermined distance (distance betweenpredetermined sites) in the subject's eye E in consideration of any oneor both of the first deviation information and the second deviationinformation acquired by the deviation detector 420. Further, thealignment controlling circuitry 440A described later is configured toperform alignment control based on any one of the first deviationinformation and the second deviation information acquired by thedeviation detector 420. Note that the configuration in which thealignment control (the first alignment control) is performed based onthe first deviation information and the alignment control (the secondalignment control) is performed based on the second deviationinformation, corresponds to the first embodiment.

As in the first embodiment, the movement mechanism 150 is configured tomove the scanner 410 (in particular, the measurement arm of theinterference optical system) relative to the subject's eye E.

The alignment controlling circuitry 440A and the scan controllingcircuitry 450A are provided in the controlling circuitry 210A. Thecontrolling circuitry 210A is provided in place of the controllingcircuitry 210 of the first embodiment. The controlling circuitry 210Aincludes a processor, and controls each part of the ophthalmic apparatus1A. The controlling circuitry 210A includes main controlling circuitryand a memory (both not shown). The controlling circuitry 210A isrealized by the cooperation of hardware including a circuit (circuitry)and controlling software.

As in the first embodiment, the alignment controlling circuitry 440Aperforms the alignment control for controlling the movement mechanism150 based on the deviation information acquired by the deviationdetector 420.

The scan controlling circuitry 450A is configured to perform the firstscan control and the second scan control. The first scan control causesthe scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the first region (e.g., theanterior eye segment region) including the first site of the subject'seye E (e.g., the corneal surface). The second scan control causes thescanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the second region (e.g., theposterior eye segment region) including the second site different fromthe first site (e.g., the retinal surface). The first scan control andthe second scan control are performed in the same manner as thoseexecuted by the scan controlling circuitry 450 of the first embodiment.The OCT scan performed under the first scan control is referred to asthe first OCT scan, and the OCT scan performed under the second scancontrol is referred to as the second OCT scan.

As described above, the deviation detector 420 performs the deviationmeasurement of the subject's eye E before, during, or after theexecution of the first scan control to acquire the first deviationinformation, and performs the deviation measurement of the subject's eyeE before, during, or after the execution of the second scan control toacquire the second deviation information.

The distance calculating circuitry 460A is configured to calculate adistance (e.g., the axial length) between the first site (e.g., thecorneal surface) and the second site (e.g., the retinal surface) of thesubject's eye E, based on any one or both of the first deviationinformation and the second deviation information, the first dataacquired in the first OCT scan, and the second data acquired in thesecond OCT scan.

In other words, the distance calculating circuitry 460A executes thedistance calculation in consideration of any one or both of thealignment error at the time of performing the first OCT scan (the firstdeviation information) and the alignment error at the time of performingthe second OCT scan (the second deviation information).

The distance calculating circuitry 460A performs, for example, thefollowing series of processing. In the first process, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A calculates the difference (the arm lengthdifference) between the first arm length applied at the time of thefirst OCT scan and the second arm length applied at the time of thesecond OCT scan. In the second process, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A analyzes the first data acquired by the first OCT scan tospecify the first position corresponding to the first site of thesubject's eye E (e.g., the signal position corresponding to the cornealsurface). In the third process, the distance calculating circuitry 460Aanalyzes the second data acquired by the second OCT scan to specify thesecond position corresponding to the second site of the subject's eye E(e.g., the signal position corresponding to the retinal surface). Thefirst to third processes are respectively performed in the same manneras those processes n the first embodiment. In the fourth process, thedistance calculating circuitry 460A calculates the distance between thefirst site and the second site, based on the arm length differencecalculated in the first process, the first position specified in thesecond process, the second position specified in the third process, andthe deviation information (i.e., at least one of the first deviationinformation and the second deviation information) acquired by thedeviation detector 420.

An example of such arithmetic processing will be described withreferring to FIG. 8 . As in FIG. 5 of the first embodiment, thereference symbol C indicates the corneal apex of the subject's eye E,and the reference symbol M indicates the macular center. Further, thestraight line Ax passing through the corneal apex C and the macularcenter M indicates the eye axis of the subject's eye E.

The reference symbol K indicates the curvature center of the cornealsurface at the corneal apex C. The curvature center K is the center ofthe curvature circle (i.e., the osculating circle) at the corneal apexC. The radius of the curvature circle, that is, the curvature radius ofthe corneal surface at the corneal apex C is denoted by r.

The reference symbol G indicates the path (incident path) of themeasurement light LS projected onto the macular center M. The referencesymbol H indicates the intersection point of the incident path G and thecorneal surface of the subject's eye E, that is, the incident positionof the measurement light LS on the subject's eye E.

The deviation (i.e., the height) of the incident path G with respect tothe eye axis Ax is denoted by h. Assuming that the shape of the corneasurface is substantially spherical, or assuming that the height h issufficiently small (that is, assuming that the alignment error issufficiently small), it can be considered that the distance between theincident position H and the curvature center K is equal to the curvatureradius r at the corneal apex C.

The angle formed by the eye axis Ax and the line segment connecting theincident position H and the curvature center K, is denoted by θ.Further, the angle formed by the eye axis Ax and the line segmentconnecting the incident position H and the macular center M, is denotedby φ.

The length of the line connecting the incident position H and themacular center M, is denoted by ALm. The length ALm corresponds to themeasurement value of the axial length of the subject's eye E obtainedfrom the data acquired by the OCT scan using the measurement light LSprojected onto the macular center M along the incident path G.

The axial length of the subject's eye E (the true value) is denoted byAL. In addition, the distance between the corneal apex C and theincident position H in the direction along the eye axis Ax, that is, themagnitude of the eye-axis-direction (Ax-direction) component of thevector whose initial point is located at the corneal apex C and terminalpoint is located at the incident position H, is denoted by AL1. Further,the distance between the incident position H and the macular center M inthe direction along the eye axis Ax, that is, the magnitude of theeye-axis-direction (Ax-direction) component of the vector whose initialpoint is located at the macular center M and terminal point is locatedat the incident position H is denoted by AL2.

As apparent from FIG. 8 , the axial length AL is represented by thefollowing formula: AL=AL1+AL2=(r−r*cos θ)+ALm×cosφ=(r−r*cos(arcsin(h/r)))+ALm*cos(arcsin(h/ALm)).

Here, the corneal curvature radius r is assumed to be obtained inadvance by a corneal shape measuring apparatus such as a keratometer.Further, the height h is an alignment error in the xy direction measuredby the deviation detector 420 and is included in the deviationinformation. Further, the axial length measurement value ALm is a valueof the axial length obtained by the ophthalmic apparatus 1A in the samemanner as in the first embodiment. By substituting the values r, h, andALm into the above formula, the axial length AL can be calculated.

The distance calculating circuitry 460A stores the above formula and thecorneal curvature radius value (r) of the subject's eye E in advance,for example. The distance calculating circuitry 460A calculates theaxial length (AL) of the subject's eye E, by substituting the followingvalues into the above formula: the corneal curvature radius value (r);the deviation (h) in the xy direction included in the deviationinformation acquired by the deviation detector 420; and the value (ALm)of the axial length measured using the OCT scan.

Note that the present example describes the case where an alignmenterror in the xy direction is present at the time of performing theposterior eye segment OCT scan. It is clear to those skilled in the artthat similar calculations may be applied to the case where an alignmenterror in the xy direction is present at the time of performing theanterior eye segment OCT scan, and the case where alignment errors arepresent at the time of performing both the anterior eye segment OCT scanand the posterior eye segment OCT scan.

Further, the present example considers only the refraction of themeasurement light LS on the corneal surface; however, other refractiveindex boundaries may also be considered. For example, the refraction ofthe measurement light LS on refractive index boundaries such as the backsurface of the cornea, the surface of the crystalline lens, and/or theback surface of the crystalline lens, may be considered.

In addition to the alignment error in the xy direction, the alignmenterror in the z direction may also be considered. The alignment error inthe z direction is obtained by the deviation detector 420 as in thefirst embodiment.

<Operations>

Some examples of the operation of the ophthalmic apparatus 1A accordingto the present embodiment will be described. Described below are thefirst operation example and the second operation example. The firstoperation example performs the distance calculation in consideration ofboth the first deviation information and the second deviationinformation. The second operation example performs the distancecalculation in consideration of the second deviation information whileusing the first deviation information for alignment.

First Operation Example

FIG. 9 shows the first operation example of the ophthalmic apparatus 1A.In the present operation example, for example, a fixation target formacula imaging may be presented on the subject's eye E. In addition,preliminary alignment may be performed prior to step S21.

(S21: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Cornea)

In the same manner as step S2 in the first embodiment, the scancontrolling circuitry 450A (and the data processing circuitry 230)changes any one or both of the measurement arm length and the referencearm length to obtain a signal corresponding to the cornea of thesubject's eye E.

(S22: Acquire First Deviation Information)

After the change of the arm length in step S21 has been completed, thedeviation detector 420 performs the first deviation measurementcorresponding to the first OCT scan (the anterior eye segment OCT scan)to acquire the first deviation information.

(S23: Apply OCT Scan to Anterior Eye Segment)

After the acquisition of the deviation information in step S22 has beencompleted, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performs control forapplying an OCT scan to the anterior eye segment of the subject's eye E.In the present example, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performs thefirst scan control that causes the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan onthe anterior eye segment region including the corneal surface of thesubject's eye E. Step S23 is performed in the same manner as step S3 inthe first embodiment.

(S24: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the image constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan instep S23. The reflection intensity profile generated is, for example,data corresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in stepS23.

(S25: Record Retroreflector Position, Reflection Intensity Profile, andFirst Deviation Information)

In the same manner as step S5 in the first embodiment, the ophthalmicapparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculating circuitry 460A) records theposition of the retroreflector at the time of performing the OCT scan instep S23, and the reflection intensity profile generated in step S24. Inaddition, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A) records the first deviation information acquired in stepS22.

(S26: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Retina)

Next, the scan controlling circuitry 450A (and the data processingcircuitry 230) changes any one or both of the measurement arm length andthe reference arm length to obtain a signal corresponding to the retinaof the subject's eye E.

(S27: Acquire Second Deviation Information)

After the adjustment of the arm length in step S26 has been completed,the deviation detector 420 performs the second deviation measurementcorresponding to the second OCT scan (the posterior eye segment OCTscan) to acquire the second deviation information. This process isperformed in the same manner as step S22.

(S28: Apply OCT Scan to Posterior Eye Segment)

After the acquisition of the deviation information in step S27 has beencompleted, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performs control forapplying an OCT scan to the posterior eye segment of the subject's eyeE. In the present example, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performsthe second scan control that causes the scanner 410 to perform an OCTscan on the posterior eye segment region including the retinal surfaceof the subject's eye E.

(S29: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the image constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan instep S28. The reflection intensity profile generated is, for example,data corresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in stepS28.

(S30: Record Retroreflector Position, Reflection Intensity Profile, andSecond Deviation Information)

In the same manner as step S25, the ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., thedistance calculating circuitry 460A) records the position of theretroreflector at the time of performing the OCT scan in step S28, thereflection intensity profile generated in step 329, and the seconddeviation information acquired in step S27.

(S31: Calculate Axial Length Considering First and Second DeviationInformation)

The distance calculating circuitry 460A calculates the distance betweenthe corneal surface and the retinal surface, based on the position ofthe retroreflector, the reflection intensity profile, and the firstdeviation information recorded in step S25, and on the position of theretroreflector, the reflection intensity profile, and the seconddeviation information recorded in step 330.

In the present example, the distance calculating circuitry 460A firstcalculates the difference between the first arm length and the secondarm length (the arm length difference), based on the position of theretroreflector recorded in step 325 (that is, the first arm lengthapplied to the anterior eye segment OCT scan), and on the position ofthe retroreflector recorded in step 330 (that is, the second arm lengthapplied to the posterior eye segment OCT scan). Further, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A analyzes the reflection intensity profilerecorded in step 325 to specify a position corresponding to the cornealsurface (the first position), and analyzes the reflection intensityprofile recorded in step S30 to specify a position corresponding to theretinal surface (the second position). Then, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A calculates the axial length of the subject's eye E, basedon the first deviation information recorded in step S25 and the seconddeviation information recorded in step S30 in addition to the arm lengthdifference, the first position, and the second position. Thiscalculation is performed, for example, according to the method describedin conjunction with FIG. 8 . Note that this example considers both thealignment error in the anterior eye segment OCT scan and the alignmenterror in the posterior eye segment OCT scan. This terminates theoperation according to the present operation example (End).

Second Operation Example

FIG. 10 shows the second operation example of the ophthalmic apparatus1A. In the present operation example, a fixation target for maculaimaging may be presented on the subject's eye E, for example. Inaddition, preliminary alignment may be performed prior to step S41.

(S41: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Cornea)

The scan controlling circuitry 450A (and the data processing circuitry230) changes any one or both of the measurement arm length and thereference arm length to obtain a signal corresponding to the cornea ofthe subject's eye E.

(S42: Acquire First Deviation Information and Perform Alignment)

After the change of the arm length in step S41 has been completed, thedeviation detector 420 performs the first deviation measurementcorresponding to the first OCT scan (the anterior eye segment OCT scan)to acquire the first deviation information. The alignment controllingcircuitry 440A performs alignment control that controls the movementmechanism 150 based on the first deviation information acquired. Thealignment control is performed in the same manner as in the firstembodiment.

(S43: Apply OCT Scan to Anterior Eye Segment)

After the alignment in step S42 has been completed, the scan controllingcircuitry 450A performs control for applying an OCT scan to the anterioreye segment of the subject's eye E. In the present example, the scancontrolling circuitry 450A performs the first scan control that causesthe scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the anterior eye segmentregion including the corneal surface of the subject's eye E. It may beassumed that the anterior eye segment OCT scan is performed in anappropriate alignment condition.

(S44: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the image constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan instep S43. The reflection intensity profile generated is, for example,data corresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in stepS43.

(S45: Record Retroreflector Position and Reflection Intensity Profile)

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculating circuitry460A) records the position of the retroreflector at the time ofperforming the OCT scan in step S43, and the reflection intensityprofile generated in step S44.

(S46: Change Arm Length to Obtain Signal of Retina)

Next, the scan controlling circuitry 450A (and the data processingcircuitry 230) changes any one or both of the measurement arm length andthe reference arm length to obtain a signal corresponding to the retinaof the subject's eye E.

(S47: Acquire Second Deviation Information)

After the adjustment of the arm length in step S46 has been completed,the deviation detector 420 performs the second deviation measurementcorresponding to the second OCT scan (the posterior eye segment OCTscan) to acquire the second deviation information. Unlike the anterioreye segment OCT scan, which is assumed to be performed in an appropriatealignment condition, an appropriate alignment condition is not ensuredin the posterior eye segment OCT scan. Therefore, only the seconddeviation information is taken into account in the distance calculationin the present example (described later in step S51).

(S48: Apply OCT Scan to Posterior Eye Segment)

After the acquisition of the deviation information in step S47 has beencompleted, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performs control forapplying an OCT scan to the posterior eye segment of the subject's eyeE. In the present example, the scan controlling circuitry 450A performsthe second scan control that causes the scanner 410 to perform an OCTscan on the posterior eye segment region including the retinal surfaceof the subject's eye E.

(S49: Generate Reflection Intensity Profile)

The scanner 410 (the image constructing circuitry 220 therein) generatesa reflection intensity profile from the data acquired in the OCT scan instep S48. The reflection intensity profile generated is, for example,data corresponding to the A-line to which the A-scan is applied in stepS48.

(S50: Record Retroreflector Position, Reflection Intensity Profile, andSecond Deviation Information)

The ophthalmic apparatus 1 (e.g., the distance calculating circuitry460A) records the position of the retroreflector at the time ofperforming the OCT scan in step S48, the reflection intensity profilegenerated in step S49, and the second deviation information acquired instep S47.

(S51: Calculate Axial Length)

The distance calculating circuitry 460A calculates the distance betweenthe corneal surface and the retinal surface, based on the position ofthe retroreflector and the reflection intensity profile recorded in stepS45, as well as the position of the retroreflector, the reflectionintensity profile, and the second deviation information recorded in stepS50.

In the present example, the distance calculating circuitry 460A firstcalculates the difference between the first arm length and the secondarm length (the arm length difference), based on the position of theretroreflector recorded in step S45 (that is, the first arm lengthapplied to the anterior eye segment OCT scan), and the position of theretroreflector recorded in step S50 (that is, the second arm lengthapplied to the posterior eye segment OCT scan), Further, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A analyzes the reflection intensity profilerecorded in step S45 to specify a position corresponding to the cornealsurface (the first position), and analyzes the reflection intensityprofile recorded in step S50 to specify a position corresponding to theretinal surface (the second position). Then, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A calculates the axial length of the subject's eye E, basedon the second deviation information recorded in step S50 in addition tothe arm length difference, the first position, and the second position.This calculation is performed, for example, according to the methoddescribed in conjunction with FIG. 8 . This terminates the operationaccording to the present operation example (End).

<Modifications of the Second Embodiment>

Some modifications applicable to the ophthalmic apparatus 1A accordingto the second embodiment will be described. Note that, unless otherwisementioned, the reference symbols used in the description of theophthalmic apparatus 1 and/or the ophthalmic apparatus 1A will be usedin the following description.

First Modification Example

Similar to the first modification example of the first embodiment, theOCT scan may be applied to the posterior eye segment a plurality oftimes in order to cope with the adverse effect of the turbidity orfloaters moving in the vitreous body on the posterior eye segment OCTscan. The repetitive OCT scan is performed by the scanner 410 under thecontrol of the scan controlling circuitry 450A.

The scanner 410 generates a reflection intensity profile or image datafrom detection signals obtained by each of the plurality of OCT scans.Thereby, a data group (a plurality of pieces of data) corresponding tothe plurality of OCT scans are obtained. The distance calculatingcircuitry 460A may acquire a single piece of data from the data groupacquired by the plurality of OCT scans, and perform the distancecalculation using the single piece of data acquired.

Second Modification Example

As in the second modification of the first embodiment, an OCT scan maybe applied to a three dimensional region of the subject's eye E in orderto accurately specify the two sites of the subject's eye E. For example,in any one or both of the anterior eye segment OCT scan and theposterior eye segment OCT scan, the scan controlling circuitry 450Acauses the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a three dimensionalregion of the subject's eye E.

The distance calculating circuitry 460A may specify the feature positioncorresponding to a feature point of the subject's eye E by analyzing thedata acquired by the OCT scan on the three dimensional region of thesubject's eye E, and then calculate the length of a line segment whoseone end is placed at the feature position specified. The length of theline segment is the distance for the purpose of the measurement.

<Effects>

The effects of the ophthalmic apparatus 1A according to the secondembodiment and the modification examples thereof will be described.

The ophthalmic apparatus 1A includes the scanner 410, the deviationdetector 420, the scan controlling circuitry 450A, and the distancecalculating circuitry 460A.

The scanner 410 is configured to apply an OCT scan to the subject's eyeE. The deviation detector 420 is configured to measure the deviation ofthe subject's eye E with respect to a predetermined reference position.

The scan controlling circuitry 450A is configured to perform the firstscan control and the second scan control. The first scan control causesthe scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the first region (e.g., theanterior eye segment region) including the first site of the subject'seye E (e.g., the corneal surface). The second scan control causes thescanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on the second region (e.g., theposterior eye segment region) including the second site different fromthe first site (e.g., the retinal surface).

The distance calculating circuitry 460A is configured to calculate adistance between the first site and the second site of the subject's eyeE (e.g., the axial length) based on the followings: at least one of thefirst deviation information of the subject's eye E acquired by thedeviation detector 420 in response to the first scan control and thesecond deviation information of the subject's eye E acquired by thedeviation detector 420 in response to the second scan control; the firstdata acquired by the scanner 410 under the first scan control; and thesecond data acquired by the scanner 410 under the second scan control.

According to the ophthalmic apparatus 1A configured as described above,the alignment error (the deviation information) in any one or both ofthe first OCT scan and the second OCT scan can be acquired, and thedistance can be calculated in consideration of the alignment error(s).Therefore, for example, in the event of performing the second OCT scanafter the first OCT scan, the reliability of the distance measurementcan be secured even if the subject's eye moves during the period fromthe first OCT scan to the second OCT scan.

As an optional configuration, the deviation detector 420 may beconfigured to acquire one deviation information in response to one scancontrol from among the first scan control and the second scan control,and further acquire the other deviation information prior to the otherscan control from among the first scan control and the second scancontrol. Further, the ophthalmic apparatus 1A may include the movementmechanism 150 and the alignment controlling circuitry 440A. The movementmechanism 150 is configured to move at least part of the scanner 410.The alignment controlling circuitry 440A is configured to performalignment control of controlling the movement mechanism 150 based on theother deviation information prior to the other scan control. Thedistance calculating circuitry 460A may be configured to calculate thedistance based on the one deviation information, the first data, and thesecond data.

For example, in the second operation example shown in FIG. 10 , thedeviation detector 420 acquires the first deviation information andperforms alignment prior to the first scan control, and calculates thedistance based on the second deviation information acquired in responseto the second scan control, the first data, and the second data.

According to the optional configuration thus configured, one of thefirst OCT scan and the second OCT scan can be performed after alignment,and the distance can be calculated in consideration of the alignmenterror in the other OCT scan. Therefore, the distance measurement can beperformed with high reliability.

As an optional configuration, the scanner 410 may include aninterference optical system and an arm length changer. The interferenceoptical system includes a measurement arm that guides the measurementlight LS to the subject's eye E, and a reference arm that guides thereference light LR. The arm length changer is provided in at least oneof the measurement arm and the reference arm, and changes the arm lengthunder the control of the scan controlling circuitry 450A. Thecombination of the retroreflector 41 and the retroreflector driver 41Ais an example of the arm length changer provided in the measurement arm.The combination of the retroreflector 114 and the retroreflector driver114A is an example of the arm length changer provided in the referencearm.

In addition, as an optional configuration, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A can perform the following series of processes: (1) theprocess of calculating the difference (arm length difference) betweenthe first arm length applied at the time of the first scan control (thefirst OCT scan) and the second arm length applied at the time of thesecond scan control (the second OCT scan); (2) the process of analyzingthe first data acquired in the first OCT scan to specify the firstposition corresponding to the first site of the subject's eye E (e.g., asignal position on the corneal surface); (3) the process of analyzingthe second data acquired in the second OCT scan to specify the secondposition corresponding to the second site of the subject's eye E (e.g.,a signal position on the retinal surface); and (4) the process ofcalculating the distance between the first site and the second site(e.g., the axial length) based on the arm length difference calculatedin (1), the first position specified in (2), the second positionspecified in (3), and at least one of the first deviation informationand the second deviation information acquired by the deviation detector420.

Here, the distance calculating circuitry 460A may be configured asfollows. First, the distance calculating circuitry 460A calculates aprovisional distance between the first site and the second site based onthe arm length difference, the first position, and the second position.Further, the distance calculating circuitry 460A calculates the distancebetween the first site and the second site based on the provisionaldistance, at least one of the first deviation information and the seconddeviation information, and the corneal curvature radius of the subject'seye E acquired in advance.

The following is a specific example of such a distance calculation; Whenthe provisional distance between the first site and the second site isdenoted by ALm, one of the first deviation information and the seconddeviation information is denoted by h, the corneal curvature radius isdenoted by r, and the distance between the first site and the secondsite (the true value) is denoted by AL, the distance calculatingcircuitry 460A calculates the distance AL by using the followingarithmetic formula: AL=(r−r*cos(arcsin(h/r))) ALm*cos(arcsin(h/ALm)).

According to the optional configurations described above, specific andconcrete processing for calculating the distance between the first siteand the second site of the subject's eye E can be provided.

As an optional configuration, the scan controlling circuitry 450A may beconfigured to cause the scanner 410 to perform a plurality of OCT scansin at least one of the first scan control (the first OCT scan) and thesecond scan control (the second OCT scan). If this is the case, thedistance calculating circuitry 460A can acquire a single piece of datafrom the data group acquired by the plurality of OCT scans. Here, thedistance calculating circuitry 460A may be configured to generate thesingle piece of data by applying averaging calculation to the data groupacquired by the plurality of OCT scans. Further, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A may be configured to calculate the distancebetween the first site and the second site (e.g., the provisionaldistance mentioned above) using the single piece of data acquired.

According to the optional configuration configured in this way, even ifthe turbidity or floaters moving in the vitreous body adversely affectsthe posterior eye segment OCT scan, the noise caused by the turbidity orfloaters can be reduced or eliminated, and/or, the data that is notaffected by the turbidity or floaters or data that is less affected canbe selected. This makes it possible to improve the reliability of thedistance measurement.

As an optional configuration, the scan controlling circuitry 450A may beconfigured to cause the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a threedimensional region of the subject's eye E in at least one of the firstscan control (the first scan) and the second scan control (the secondscan). If this is the case, the distance calculating circuitry 460A maybe configured to analyze the data acquired by the OCT scan on the threedimensional region to specify a feature position corresponding to afeature point of the subject's eye E. In addition, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A may be configured to calculate the length ofa line segment whose one end is placed at the specified featureposition, as the distance between the first site and the second site(e.g., the aforementioned provisional distance).

As the first typical example, the scan controlling circuitry 450A may beconfigured to cause the scanner 410 to perform an OCT scan on a threedimensional region including the corneal surface of the subject's eye Ein the first scan control (the first OCT scan). In addition, thedistance calculating circuitry 460A may be configured to analyze thedata acquired by the OCT scan on the three dimensional region to specifya feature position corresponding to the corneal apex of the subject'seye E. If this is the case, the distance calculating circuitry 460A maybe configured to calculate the length of a line segment whose one end isplaced at the corneal apex, as the distance between the first site andthe second site (e.g., the aforementioned provisional distance).

As the second typical example, the scan controlling circuitry 450A maybe configured to cause the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a threedimensional region including the retinal surface of the subject's eye Ein the second scan control (the second OCT scan). Further, the distancecalculating circuitry 460A may be configured to analyze the dataacquired by the OCT scan on the three dimensional region to specify afeature position corresponding to the macular center. Id this is thecase, the distance calculating circuitry 460A may be configured tocalculate the length of a line segment whose one end is placed at themacular center, as the distance between the first site and the secondsite (e.g., the aforementioned provisional distance).

By combining the first and second typical examples, the length of theline segment whose one end is placed at the corneal apex and the otherend is placed at the macular center can be determined. That is, theaxial length of the subject's eye E can be determined in this way.

As an optional configuration, the deviation detector 420 includes thealignment optical system 50 (a projection system), the two (or more)anterior eye segment cameras 300 (two or more cameras), and thedeviation calculating circuitry 430. The alignment optical system 50 isconfigured to project a light beam onto the anterior eye segment of thesubject's eye E. The two (or more) anterior eye segment cameras 300 areconfigured to photograph the anterior eye segment of the subject's eye Efrom mutually different directions. The deviation calculating circuitry430 is configured to calculate the deviation of the subject's eye E withrespect to a predetermined reference position based on positions ofimages of the light beam (bright spot images) in the two (or more)anterior eye segment images acquired by the two or more anterior eyesegment cameras 300.

According to the optional configuration described above, a specific andconcrete configuration and processing for measuring the deviation of thesubject's eye E with respect to a predetermined reference position canbe provided.

In addition, any of the items described in the second embodiment(configurations, elements, processing, processes, operations, actions,functions, etc.) and/or any of known items may be combined with theophthalmic apparatus described in the present example. Further, any ofthe items described in the first embodiment (configurations, elements,processing, processes, operations, actions, functions, etc.) may becombined with the ophthalmic apparatus described in the present example.

The second embodiment provides a method of controlling an ophthalmicapparatus. The ophthalmic apparatus includes a scanner (410) configuredto apply an OCT scan to the subject's eye E and a deviation detector(420) configured to measure the deviation of the subject's eye (E) withrespect to a predetermined reference position.

The controlling method includes the first scan control step, the secondscan control step; the deviation detection step, and the distancecalculation step.

The first scan control step causes the scanner (410) to perform an OCTscan on the first region including the first site of the subject's eye(E). This OCT scan is referred to as the first OCT scan. Further, thesecond scan control step causes the scanner (410) to perform an OCT scanon the second region including the second site different from the firstsite of the subject's eye (E). This OCT scan is referred to as thesecond OCT scan.

The deviation detection step causes the deviation detector (420) toperform at least one of the step of acquiring the first deviationinformation of the subject's eye (E) in response to the first scancontrol, and the step of acquiring the second deviation information ofthe subject's eye (E) in response to the second scan control.

The distance calculation step calculates the distance between the firstsite and the second site of the subject's eye (E), based on at least oneof the first deviation information and the second deviation informationacquired in the deviation detection step, the first data acquired by thescanner (410) in the first scan control step, and the second dataacquired by the scanner (410) in the second scan control step.

According to the controlling method of ophthalmic apparatus as describedabove, it is possible to obtain an alignment error (deviationinformation) in any one or both of the first OCT scan and the second OCTscan, and to calculate the distance in consideration of the alignmenterror(s). Therefore, the reliability of the distance measurement can besecured.

Note that any of the items described in the first embodiment(configurations, elements, processing, processes, operations, actions,functions, etc.), and/or, any of the items described in the secondembodiment (configurations, elements, processing, processes, operations,actions, functions, etc.), and/or, any of known items may be combinedwith the controlling method of the present example.

A program that causes a computer to execute such a controlling methodmay be configured. The program may include, for example, any of theaforementioned programs for operating the ophthalmic apparatus 1A of thesecond embodiment or a modification example thereof.

Further, it is possible to create a computer readable non-transitoryrecording medium storing such a program. The non-transitory recordingmedium may be in any form or aspect, and examples thereof includemagnetic disks, optical disks, magneto-optical disks, semiconductormemories and the like.

<Other Items>

The aspects described above are merely illustrative of theimplementation of the present invention. A person who intends topractice the present invention may apply any modification (omission,substitution, replacement, addition, etc.) within the scope of thepresent invention.

For example, the ophthalmic apparatus according to some embodiments mayhave a configuration for measuring a characteristic of the subject'seye. As a specific example, the ophthalmic apparatus according to someembodiments may have a configuration for measuring the corneal curvatureradius of the subject's eye. The configuration for the corneal curvatureradius measurement may include an optical system, an arithmetic system,and a control system that have the same configurations as those of aconventional corneal shape measuring apparatus. An example of theconfiguration for measuring the corneal curvature radius includes theconfiguration using a kerato plate (kerato ring) or a placido plate(placido ring) disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent ApplicationPublication No. 2017-063978 filed by the present applicant. The cornealcurvature radius may be measured by using an anterior eye segment OCTscan, instead. Note that the configuration for measuring the cornealcurvature radius is not limited to these examples, and may be aconfiguration using any known technique.

The characteristics of the subject's eye that can be measured by theophthalmic apparatus according to some embodiments are not limited tothe corneal curvature radius. For example, the ophthalmic apparatusaccording to some embodiments may have a configuration for measuring therefractive power of the subject's eye (e.g., spherical power, astigmaticpower, and/or astigmatism axis angle). The configuration for measuringthe refractive power of the subject's eye may include an optical system,an arithmetic system, and a control system that have the sameconfigurations as a conventional refractive power measuring apparatus (arefractometer). An example of the configuration for measuring therefractive power includes the configuration disclosed in JapaneseUnexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2017-063978 filed by thepresent applicant.

When the ophthalmic apparatus according to some embodiments has the eyerefractive power measuring function, the ophthalmic apparatus may beconfigured to use the eye refractive power measuring function, in placeof using the focus optical system 60 as described in the abovedisclosure, to determine the focal position. Then, the ophthalmicapparatus may move the OCT focusing lens 43 to focus on the focalposition determined.

In the above-mentioned disclosure, the method using the alignmentindicator and the method using the anterior eye segment cameras havebeen described as the applicable alignment method. However, otheralignment methods may be applied. An example of the other alignmentmethods is a method using an optical lever. The alignment method ofophthalmic apparatus using the optical lever is disclosed, for example,in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-148032and Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2018-050922.

The deviation detector of the ophthalmic apparatus of the presentexample is configured to measure the deviation of the subject's eye withrespect to a predetermined reference position by using the opticallever. The predetermined reference position is, for example, theposition corresponding to the working distance. In other words, thepredetermined reference position is the position separated in the zdirection from the subject's eye by the predetermined working distance,and the deviation measured is typically a deviation in the z direction.

The deviation detector in the present example includes a projectionsystem that projects a light beam obliquely onto the anterior eyesegment of the subject's eye and an image sensor that detects reflectionof the light beam of the projected light beam from the anterior eyesegment. The configurations and arrangement of the projection system andthe image sensor may be the same as those of a conventional opticallever alignment means.

A typical projection system includes a light source and a lens. Theoptical axis of the typical projection system is tilted by the firstangle in the first direction with respect to the optical axis of themeasurement arm (the optical axis of the objective lens). A typicalimage sensor may be a CCD image sensor or a CMOS image sensor, and maybe a line sensor or an area sensor. Typically, an imaging lens isdisposed between the image sensor and the subject's eye E. The opticalaxis of the detection system including the image sensor and the imaginglens is tilted by the second angle in the second direction with respectto the optical axis of the measurement arm. Here, the second angle isequal to the first angle, and the second direction is opposite to thefirst direction.

With such a configuration and arrangement, when the projection systemand the detection system are located within a predetermined area withrespect to the subject's eye, the image sensor can detect the reflectionof the light beam. In addition, the change in the relative position ofthe projection system and the detection system with respect to thesubject's eye, induces the change in the detection position of thereflection of the light beam by the image sensor changes. In otherwords, the position of the reflection of the light beam projected on thelight receiving area (e.g., the light receiving element array) of theimage sensor varies according to the relative position of the projectionsystem and the detection system with respect to the subject's eye.

The deviation detector of the present example includes the deviationcalculating circuitry that calculates the deviation of the subject's eyebased on the position of the reflection detected by the image sensor.The calculation executed by the deviation calculating circuitry of thepresent example may be the same as the calculation performed by theconventional optical lever type alignment method, and; typically, thedeviation in the z direction is detected. The deviation calculatingcircuitry of the present example is realized by the cooperation ofhardware including a circuit (circuitry) and deviation calculatingsoftware.

According to the present example, a specific and concrete configurationand processing for measuring the deviation of the subject's eye withrespect to a predetermined reference position can be provided as in thecase of using the alignment indicator or using two or more anterior eyesegment cameras.

While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments havebeen presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit thescope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described hereinmay be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, variousomissions, substitutions, additions and changes in the form of theembodiments described herein may be made without departing from thespirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalentsare intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall withinthe scope and spirit of the inventions.

What is claimed is:
 1. An ophthalmic apparatus comprising: a scannerthat applies an optical coherence tomography (OCT) scan to a subject'seye; a movement mechanism that moves at least part of the scanner; adeviation detector that measures deviation of the subject's eye withrespect to a predetermined reference position; scan controllingcircuitry that performs first scan control of causing the scanner toperform an OCT scan on a first region including a first site of thesubject's eye, and second scan control of causing the scanner to performan OCT scan on a second region including a second site different fromthe first site; alignment controlling circuitry that performs firstalignment control for first automatic alignment by controlling themovement mechanism based on first deviation information of the subject'seye acquired by the deviation detector prior to the first scan control,and second alignment control for second automatic alignment bycontrolling the movement mechanism based on second deviation informationof the subject's eye acquired by the deviation detector prior to thesecond scan control; and distance calculating circuitry that calculatesa distance between the first site and the second site based on firstdata acquired by the scanner under the first scan control and seconddata acquired by the scanner under the second scan control.
 2. Theophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein the scan controlling circuitrycauses the scanner to perform a plurality of OCT scans in at least oneof the first scan control and the second scan control, and the distancecalculating circuitry acquires a single piece of data from a data groupacquired by the plurality of OCT scans, and calculates the distanceusing the single piece of data.
 3. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 2,wherein the distance calculating circuitry generates the single piece ofdata by averaging the data group.
 4. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim1, wherein the scan controlling circuitry causes the scanner to performan OCT scan on a three dimensional region of the subject's eye in atleast one of the first scan control and the second scan control, and thedistance calculating circuitry analyzes data acquired by the OCT scan onthe three dimensional region to specify a feature position correspondingto a feature point of the subject's eye, and calculates a length of aline segment whose one end is placed at the feature position, as thedistance.
 5. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the scancontrolling circuitry causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on athree dimensional region including at least part of a corneal surface ofthe subject's eye in the first scan control, and the distancecalculating circuitry analyzes data acquired by the OCT scan on thethree dimensional region to specify a feature position corresponding toa corneal apex.
 6. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 4, wherein the scancontrolling circuitry causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on athree dimensional region including at least part of a retinal surface ofthe subject's eye in the second scan control, and the distancecalculating circuitry analyzes data acquired by the OCT scan on thethree dimensional region to specify a feature position corresponding toa macular center.
 7. The ophthalmic apparatus of claim 1, wherein thedeviation detector includes: a projection system that projects a lightbeam onto an anterior eye segment of the subject's eye; two or morecameras that photograph the anterior eye segment from directionsdifferent from each other; and deviation calculating circuitry thatcalculates the deviation of the subject's eye based on positions ofimages of the light beam in two or more anterior eye segment imagesacquired by the two or more cameras.
 8. The ophthalmic apparatus ofclaim 1, wherein the deviation detector includes: a projection systemthat projects a light beam obliquely onto an anterior eye segment of thesubject's eye; an image sensor that detects reflection of the light beamfrom the anterior eye segment; and deviation calculating circuitry thatcalculates the deviation of the subject's eye based on a position of thereflection detected by the image sensor.
 9. A method of controlling anophthalmic apparatus that includes a scanner configured to apply anoptical coherence tomography (OCT) scan to a subject's eye, a movementmechanism configured to move at least part of the scanner, and adeviation detector configured to measure deviation of the subject's eyewith respect to a predetermined reference position, the methodcomprising: a first alignment control step for first automatic alignmentthat controls the movement mechanism based on first deviationinformation of the subject's eye acquired by the deviation detector; afirst scan control step that causes the scanner to perform an OCT scanon a first region including a first site of the subject's eye; a secondalignment control step for second automatic alignment that controls themovement mechanism based on second deviation information of thesubject's eye acquired by the deviation detector; a second scan controlstep that causes the scanner to perform an OCT scan on a second regionincluding a second site different from the first site; and a distancecalculation step that calculates a distance between the first site andthe second site, based on first data acquired by the scanner in thefirst scan control step and second data acquired by the scanner in thesecond scan control step.
 10. A computer-readable non-transitoryrecording medium storing a program that causes a computer to execute themethod of claim
 9. 11. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: a movable optical assembly configured to change alength of an optical path of the OCT scan, wherein the scan controllingcircuitry is configured to control the movable optical assembly to makea first change in the length of the optical path of the OCT after thefirst alignment control, and the scan controlling circuitry isconfigured to control the movable optical assembly to make a secondchange in the length of the optical path of the OCT before the secondalignment control.
 12. The ophthalmic apparatus according to claim 1,further comprising: at least one movable retroreflector, wherein thescan controlling circuitry is configured to control a movement of the atleast one movable retroreflector to a first retroreflector positioncorresponding to the first scan region and a second retroreflectorposition corresponding to the second scan region, the distancecalculating circuitry is further configured to record the firstretroreflector position and a first scan intensity profile of the OCTscan on the first region, the distance calculating circuitry is furtherconfigured to record the second retroreflector position and a secondscan intensity profile of the OCT scan on the second region, and thedistance calculating circuitry is further configured to calculate thedistance between the first site and the second site based on therecorded first retroreflector position, second retroreflector position,first scan intensity profile, and second scan intensity profile.
 13. Theophthalmic apparatus of claim 12, wherein a first one of the firstregion and second regions is on a cornea of the subject's eye and asecond one of the first and second regions is on a retina of thesubject's eye, and the distance calculating circuitry is configured tocalculate an axial length of the subject's eye as the distance.